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International Work Exchanges
Have you got what it takes?
Ian Brooker; Senior Ranger; Dartmoor National Park, undertook a nine month work exchange with a Senior Warden from Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, Canada. It was the realisation of a long held ambition but despite careful planning, it nearly ended in disaster! Here he shares his experiences and advice."You need to be prepared to fit in to your host’s employment framework".
Setting it up
Having chosen Canada, an e-mail to the Canadian Warden's Association resulted
in a couple of replies. One looked very promising and an exchange of e-mails
revealed that we were on the same wavelength. (Nowadays, the IRF operates a
database of exchange contacts
and this would be a good starting point).
My own authority has a positive policy on work exchanges so I was able to present a case and obtained permission within five weeks. Unfortunately, it took my Canadian counterpart, Chris McCarthy, nearly a year to obtain the OK from Parks Canada. We each remained employed by our own authority throughout, but you need to be prepared to fit in to your host’s employment framework, even though they do not directly employ you.
Work contract details
It is important to -
Transport and Accommodation
Agreements are also needed for swapped houses and vehicles. It’s essential
to get everything in writing including how you want your property looked after,
agreed mileage on the car, insurance cover and servicing. I would strongly recommend
you appoint a reliable person to deal with any domestic matters whilst you are
away. My sister did a great job passing relevant bills on to Chris and dealing
with our redirected mail. Exchanges can also be expensive. We had to pay for
work permits, plane tickets and medical insurance which cost us about £3500.
The arrival
It's kind of surreal when you finally meet up with your counterpart. We had
a couple of days overlap in England with Chris and his family before leaving
but I have known some to fly past each other and never actually meet!
It was early October when we arrived in Newfoundland, known locally as 'the Rock'. The island is similar in area to England but has a population of only 500,000. The wide-open spaces confront you head on. We drove north along the west coast to Rocky Harbour, our new home on the outskirts of the Park. No sooner had we arrived than the locals were knocking on the door to welcome the Brits from the 'Motherland'.
We soon got over the “culture shock”, including the lack of fresh vegetables (everything was imported from the mainland) but it took longer to get used to ice cold fizzy beer. There's nothing like the yearning for a good pint of bitter when you're 4.5 hours flying time from the nearest decent pub!
Welcome to Canada!
After a few days settling in, I turned up for work at the Park HQ to discover
that, despite all the careful preparation, things were not as they seemed. My
new boss was completely unprepared for my arrival. Although he had drawn up
the exchange contract, it appeared that little of this was actually going to
happen and I immediately felt like a spare part, rather than stepping into Chris's
shoes as Chris would be doing in mine. This was compounded when I met the Chief
Park Warden, who decided that I couldn't join the Warden team because I had
not been through Canadian Police training. Although everyone was very welcoming,
it didn't really help my predicament.
Chris was very embarrassed and we spent many hours on the telephone that first night sorting things out. The challenge was certainly on to prove myself to Parks Canada and find my niche but it made for a tough first three months. Eventually I was able to use my skills to help the Wardens and newly appointed science staff to work more closely together and to start breaking down some of the barriers. I benefited tremendously from this unexpected challenge and learned new skills to boot plus important lessons in being both flexible and philosophical!
Let it snow
Weather-wise, we experienced the worst winter in Newfoundland for years, with
4.5 metres of snowfall and temperatures below freezing from mid November until
mid April. I still remember my colleagues' laughter as the first snowflakes
fell and I asked if we’d be sent home! Snow ploughs, skidoos and studded
tyres meant that very little stopped for snow. I soon learned how to skidoo,
ski and skate (badly), and there were plenty of laughs at my expense!
Conclusions
Overall, despite the initial setbacks, the experience was very worthwhile. The
challenges gave me a new perspective on my own role back home and I felt I had
made a useful contribution to the Park. We left behind some very close friends
and a new way of life and it took me a good six months to pick up where I had
left off. However, I would recommend it to anyone - and I'm already planning
the next one!
Please feel free to contact me on any aspects of the exchange.
Ian Brooker: Senior
Ranger
Dartmoor National Park
Telephone: 01837 851478 Mobile: 07720 509273
(This article first appeared in the C.M.A. Southwest Region newsletter “Sou’wester”).