There is no such thing as the best moment for work and travel - you just have to do it! Otherwise you'll find yourself back at work 10 years later and think: Oh, I wish I'd done it back then! The possibilities are as varied as the holiday regions themselves. But how do I find a company that employs work-and-travel fans? What are fair conditions? How do I find accommodation? Many people ask themselves questions like these and discard their plans after a few aimless attempts.
The Koblenz-based start-up Worcay wants to help everyone aged 18 and over and is taking over the entire organisation. This season, participants travelled to Greece, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria. In the Bike Republic Sölden, they shaped the trails, had fun in the bike park and experienced the Tyrol holiday region half as residents/workers and half as tourists. But Worcay not only offers unusual jobs such as trail builders, but also classic jobs in hotels or mountain huts.
Worcay: Work And Travel corresponds to the community spirit of Gen Z
Matthias Will is the founder behind the work-and-travel portal Worcay. He didn't come up with the idea for his start-up - if you like - but rather an Allgäu ski resort in the middle of the 2021 coronavirus staffing crisis. People were urgently needed at the ticket office to carry out Covid tests so that skiers could hit the slopes in a 3G-compliant manner. Matthias, who has always been a good networker, found students for the ski resort - in return, they were given accommodation in the resort and a ski pass. Here we go: Work and travel. Worcay officially went online the following summer.
"We are targeting two markets with Worcay: hotels and leisure providers who are looking for staff, and people who come to expensive holiday regions that they would otherwise not be able to afford," explains Matthias Will. "The Gen Z idea that work is a means to an end," says Matthias, "plays a major role here. You can try things out, meet people, travel and earn money at the same time." In fact, everything is free of charge for the participants - Matthias refers to them as "the workcays". His company earns money from placing them with the companies.
Worcay sums up his business idea in a nutshell:
Staff shortage meets wanderlust. (Staff shortage meets wanderlust)
An application that doesn't want to be one
- So you want to become a trail shaper with us - why?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
- ...
Worcay does not have the kind of questionnaires that are still used in real job interviews. Interested parties register via the website, choose between mountains, water city or "Never mind, just get out and about", state the period in which they would like to work and travel, and possible jobs they would like to do. Someone from Worcay then gets in touch for a real interview, which is conducted via video call in keeping with the times.
"After that, we want to be able to recommend our applicants to companies like friends," explains Matthias Will. "What's most important to us is commitment, openness and a willingness to learn - not so much the qualifications they already have."
Bike dealer, bike guide, more bike parks
The cooperation with the Bike Republic Sölden is just the beginning. Matthias is a passionate mountain biker himself. That's why Worcay is planning to win over more regions and companies next year, especially in the bike sector. More bike parks, including in Scandinavia, providing more bike guides and also supporting bike dealers and workshops in attractive regions for the high season - or the other way round: to fulfil young people's dream of being able to work in a cool bike shop right next to a bike park with Work And Travel. Otherwise, when you're 35, you'll be annoyed that you didn't do it ...
Marc Strucken
Editor
