Club ESL/ Discover Canada Tours

Placement organization

Name of organization: Club ESL/ Discover Canada Tours
Town/city: Vancouver
Country: Canada
Website: http://www.clubesl.com

Name of student: Jennifer Kers

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2015-2016

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tourism Agency
Organization’s activities: The company organizes a lot of activities. They sell tours in the weekends but also have activities and party’s for the ESL students and the interns. Every weekend you are able as an intern to go on a tour and then you will help the guide out with guiding. It is a fun way to explore Western Canada and also to meet a lot of people.
Target group of the organization: ESL students, 18-35 years old
Company culture: This company has an open-door policy. You can always ask everyone your questions and they are happy to help you out.
Number of employees: 20 (including interns)
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? I am working in the sales and marketing department.
Brief description of your daily activities: Everyday I go to certain ESL schools where I promote and talk with students about our upcoming tours, activities and parties. On Monday morning I guide a walking tour for new students from the schools in Vancouver. On Friday I am in the office to help out with sales there and work on my assignments.
Brief description of your company assignment: My assignment is to find out how to boost the marketing of the company Discover Canada Tours, what is another division of the company with a different targetgroup.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisors in the company are really nice. They want to help you with everything and also if there is something wrong they will also help you personally.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, teamplayer, sociable, flexible
Additional company requirements for this placement? Social media knowledge
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? I looked for a homestay on the internet
How did you go to work every day? Public Transportation / skytrain

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, you need a working holiday or a co-op visa.
Do you need a work permit? Yes, work permit, working holiday or a co-op visa.
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I arranged everything at home and applied on the internet for the visa.
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? To get everything for you visa and receive your visa can take more than one month.
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? If you English is not so good than I would recommend it, but also this internship is a great way to improve your English.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 900
Accommodation (monthly): € 650
Local transport (monthly): € 60
General costs of living (monthly): € 500
Costs of visa: € 300
Costs of work permit: € same as visa
What did the company pay for/to you? They let you go on the tours for free.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I researched everything about Vancouver and the culture of Canada, but in the end it is not so different than it is in the Netherlands.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: teamjenniferr@hotmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Definitely go on tours every weekend and explore the environment of this beautiful city!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: You can go ski and snowboards on the surrounding mountains in the winter. You can lay on the beaches in the summer. You can go to Whistler, Victoria, Seattle and the Rocky Mountains, but also definitely just walk around the city itself and explore stanley park, downtown and North-Vancouver. Go to Icehockey games and enjoy the Canadian culture as much as you can.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link