10
de Febrer
de
2017
Act.
14
de Febrer
de
2017
Marta wanted to learn English and so she went to London looking forward to practising the language. However, she found so many Catalan and Spanish people there, that the experience did not turn out how she had hoped. Determined to learn English without any distractions, she decided that the best thing would be to go to the other side of the world. And that is how she ended up in Australia. That was almost eight years ago. Today, Marta Caparrós speaks English perfectly, resides in Australia and works helping all those who, like her, want to improve their English in the antipodes. She does so through AUssieYouTOO, an online support group that provides a free advice service to people who want to study, live and work in Australia.
The idea for AUssieYouTOO was conceived in 2009, when she was studying in Byron Bay, in Australia, and she in effect became a consultant to other people who wanted to follow her example. "I ended up taking a student to my school and the head suggested I work for them for commission." She opened the Facebook page, Españoles en Byron Bay, where she offered information and free advice to anyone who wanted to come to Australia. Out of this grew AUssieYouTOO, a free online support group that uses social media and online technology to provide advice about visas, accommodation, work and other aspects that have to be resolved before going to study English in Australia.
A country with lots of opportunities
Caparrós insists that both Australia and New Zealand are countries with "lots of opportunities", and lots of jobs, whether it is work as a dishwasher in the restaurant sector or qualified work as an engineer, teacher or doctor. "Here the unemployment rate is 5%; if you don't have a job it is because you don't want one,"she says. Nevertheless, she also warns of the difficulties of getting a work permit and also the demand for a high level of English from those people who want one.
To study English in Australia you can get a study visa that allows you to work for 20 hours a week, so that you can balance learning with supplementary work in bars, hotels or child care.
The type of people who make the move to the antipodes with the support of AUssieYoutTOO are young people between 23 and 35, while only 5% of those interested in emigrating to Australia are over 39.
Caparrós works with a team of 25 people split between Australia and Spain, and has the help of people who take in recent arrivals and who help them to get settled and take their first steps. The consultancy for the students is free, with the business coming from commission from English language schools.
In 2012 they took about 50 students to Australia. Today, the figure is closer to 800. This accounts for 25% of the Spaniards who go to Australia on a student visa.
Studying in New Zealand
The success of AUssieYouTOO has been such that a year ago Caparrós set up the KIwiYouTOO parallel projectto take students of English to New Zealand. AUssieYouTOO currently works with some 80 schools in Australia and around 15 in New Zealand. One of the keys that has made it possible, explains Caparrós, is "the ease in starting a new company; it is very quick and becoming self-employed is free."
Last year, AUssieYouTOO launched a platform aimed at adolescents called AUssieTEENS, for teenagers between 15 and 18. The peculiarity of this programme is that it offers the youngsters lodging with Australian families who look after them 24 hours a day. In this case, the English courses are done during the summer in Byron Bay, a small and safe coastal town where the teenagers balance their classes with open-air activities.
At the same time, AUssieYouTOO is developing a new platform for the Latin American public, with the idea of offering the same service to people from Mexico, Colombia and Chile who want to study English in Australia. Although the AUssieYoutTOO model is entirely online, in the case of these countries they do not rule out opening a physical office because, as Caparrós explains, "they are so used to signing up to courses online."
The idea for AUssieYouTOO was conceived in 2009, when she was studying in Byron Bay, in Australia, and she in effect became a consultant to other people who wanted to follow her example. "I ended up taking a student to my school and the head suggested I work for them for commission." She opened the Facebook page, Españoles en Byron Bay, where she offered information and free advice to anyone who wanted to come to Australia. Out of this grew AUssieYouTOO, a free online support group that uses social media and online technology to provide advice about visas, accommodation, work and other aspects that have to be resolved before going to study English in Australia.
A country with lots of opportunities
Caparrós insists that both Australia and New Zealand are countries with "lots of opportunities", and lots of jobs, whether it is work as a dishwasher in the restaurant sector or qualified work as an engineer, teacher or doctor. "Here the unemployment rate is 5%; if you don't have a job it is because you don't want one,"she says. Nevertheless, she also warns of the difficulties of getting a work permit and also the demand for a high level of English from those people who want one.
To study English in Australia you can get a study visa that allows you to work for 20 hours a week, so that you can balance learning with supplementary work in bars, hotels or child care.
The type of people who make the move to the antipodes with the support of AUssieYoutTOO are young people between 23 and 35, while only 5% of those interested in emigrating to Australia are over 39.
Caparrós works with a team of 25 people split between Australia and Spain, and has the help of people who take in recent arrivals and who help them to get settled and take their first steps. The consultancy for the students is free, with the business coming from commission from English language schools.
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| One of the groups of young people who have settled in Australia. Ceded |
In 2012 they took about 50 students to Australia. Today, the figure is closer to 800. This accounts for 25% of the Spaniards who go to Australia on a student visa.
Studying in New Zealand
The success of AUssieYouTOO has been such that a year ago Caparrós set up the KIwiYouTOO parallel projectto take students of English to New Zealand. AUssieYouTOO currently works with some 80 schools in Australia and around 15 in New Zealand. One of the keys that has made it possible, explains Caparrós, is "the ease in starting a new company; it is very quick and becoming self-employed is free."
Last year, AUssieYouTOO launched a platform aimed at adolescents called AUssieTEENS, for teenagers between 15 and 18. The peculiarity of this programme is that it offers the youngsters lodging with Australian families who look after them 24 hours a day. In this case, the English courses are done during the summer in Byron Bay, a small and safe coastal town where the teenagers balance their classes with open-air activities.
At the same time, AUssieYouTOO is developing a new platform for the Latin American public, with the idea of offering the same service to people from Mexico, Colombia and Chile who want to study English in Australia. Although the AUssieYoutTOO model is entirely online, in the case of these countries they do not rule out opening a physical office because, as Caparrós explains, "they are so used to signing up to courses online."