Program Reviews

Hello I’m Anna. I flew out to Australia in October 2022, with TravelGrad. Before I arrived in Australia I was a bit nervous as I was moving to the other side of the world with no friends and no job and I didn’t really know what to expect. From the moment I got here I felt very comfortable. I think this was mostly down to the fact that I went on a week tour of Sydney and realised that everyone is in exactly the same boat.

The first week was an absolute rollercoaster full of activities including a catamaran trip, dolphin watching, sand boarding, city walking tour, pub crawl and help with lots of different things like bank account, new phone number and job support. There were about 25 other people on the tour with us and by doing these activities and spending time together you make friends. I had a great time on the week tour and now nearly four weeks later I am friends with the people I went on the tour with and we have plans to do stuff together when we are in the same places on our travels and to even meet up to travel together.

We got access to a database to secure a job, and the opportunity for someone to look over our cvs and make sure that they are formatted in the way is needed to get a job in Australia. There are other websites to apply for jobs as well (which is what I used), so there’s no stress if there isn’t anything you want on the initial database. As of today I have got my first job in Australia! It was so easy - I applied on Wednesday, got a reply Thursday, had the interview at 10:45am on Monday, and by 1pm had confirmed a start date of Wednesday. There are adverts everywhere for jobs and it seems really easy to get something regardless of what you are looking for. They are crying out for workers here at the moment!

I have been in Australia for exactly a month today, and I’m having a great time. The experiences I’ve had so far have exceeded everything I was expecting. It’s very laidback here.

One thing I would advise is to talk to everyone and anyone. You never know what opportunities will arise from who you talk to. There are all sorts of people in hostels with different stories to tell and recommendations for you.

See you in Australia!

I joined the CTE for what was supposed to be 10 months in 2018, but I loved my experience in China so much, that I ended up staying for 16 months! The director Andrew was highly supportive and made sure our transition from the UK to China was as smooth as possible. I had several reservations before leaving for China, for instance, being a black woman; Andrew put me at great ease by ensuring to connect me with previous black applicants that shared their experiences with me. I would 100% recommend this life-changing experience.

If you are thinking about working abroad I could not recommend travelgrad any more! I travelled to China to do the China Teaching Experience in 2018-2019 and had an unforgettable experience. Initially I was slightly apprehensive but they put me at ease. Andrew supported me throughout the whole process from visa application - the end. They were able to place me in the same city as my friend and find me a work contract that gave me plenty of free time to explore China and further afield. I also got to spend 2 months travelling Thailand during my holidays from work during the spring break. This experience not only was fun it also helped me make further life decisions where I’m now a qualified in the UK. 100% recommend this experience.

South Korea is a fantastic Country, (significantly if you grew up in the UK) It's so safe, you can literally leave your phone on the table and disappear for an hour, come back and it will still be there! The people are amicable and genuinely do their best to help foreigners in need. Enough people in big cities (not countryside places) speak broken English, so you can get by fine - Download papago!

Getting used to the style of food here is quite an experience, they have some strange combinations and some very delicious ones. If you're not a fan of their food it's okay, the quality of the foreign food here is incredible! it won't make you feel at home, because it's better than the food at home.

There are lots to see, if you love party life Korea has some amazing clubs. The drink prices are cheap, travelling is very cheap. Honestly, it's a no-brainer. For one year of your life, I recommend everyone should travel. This place like many other countries will open up your eyes, and the way you perceive life. You'll never meet people like you do when you travel, all unique personalities with different life stories.

The first 3 months feel difficult because youre having a culture shock but also need things like an ARC card to sign up for most things like getting a phone contract etc. But once you overcome that hurdle it's smooth sailings. Remember you are coming here with nothing as a new citizen, so there are things to sort out. If I can do it, anyone can. All great things come at a price, this one just takes courage... with that, I'll end with a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt...

“Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”

Before graduating last year, the idea of living and working abroad sounded amazing. Travel Grad popped up on Grad Intel and I thought: I’ve got nothing to lose by signing up and asking a few questions. The first call I had with Andrew was professional, yet casual and genuine; basically, you can tell that his service is legit. I’d never worked with children before, let alone teach… So, it was even more of a plus to find out that Andrew taught and lived abroad himself; I gathered that voicing any of my concerns and questions would be met with understanding… as he’s walked this path before! And it's true.

Travel Grad literally works around the clock, I don’t know if I’d be able to level with, or trust, a different agency or set of people- I'm really pleased that I stuck with Travel Grad and began this whole journey with them! Andrew and Travel Grad helped me to leave the UK feeling pretty content with things.

I’ve been here for 3 months now, and it really is one of the best choices I’ve made. It’s been great to push out of the bubble of back home, and do something brand new and different. But at the roots of my experience so far, I've got a lot of gratitude for Travel Grad. They have been helpful, authentic, communicative, and you could read anything you like: but the only way to properly know is to do! Going with Travel Grad was like doing it by yourself with a guide; things have been way smoother than if I'd tried to sort it all out myself.

TravelGrad was fantastic in helping me to overcome both administrative/bureaucratic barriers and the general anxieties of moving to the other side of the world.

The service and support they offered was friendlier and more personal than other providers and made the whole process as smooth as could be.

The school I was placed at was safe, well managed and supportive. Through them I ended up in a great place where I got make more friends, experience a new culture, food and language and have some amazing adventures!

I was in my final year of University, I had 6 months left of student life before graduation and a lot of my friends had already found graduate jobs and knew what they would be doing come July, or they at least had some sort of plan. To put it bluntly, I was terrified. I didn’t want to have nothing, I felt like I needed some sort of idea or plan. I’d always wanted to do a Masters, but finding funding for a Masters in theatre in near impossible, and years ago I’d seen an advert for teaching abroad in Asia, so I decided to have a look (it was also a form of procrastination to avoid dissertation work), a girl can dream right? I googled around and via my University careers website, stumbled upon an advertisement from TravelGrad, China Teaching Experience. After scoping out other offers, I realised that TravelGrad was offering the best deal cost-wise and that you got the same deal as other companies, but could pay a whole lot less! I applied online and one day later had an email offering a skype interview. A week later I was sat nervously on Skype waiting to have a short interview with the company director; Andrew. I guess my theatre degree did something for helping me act confident and convincing him, as a few days after the call, I had a confirmation email offering me a place! A couple of drinks at the pub to celebrate and tell friends were in order!

Fast forward to mid-August, all of the paperwork was completed, I had received my Visa and on the same day it arrived, sat and booked flights for two days later, and put up a quick Facebook post to tell people I was leaving in two days! Three days later I met Andrew at Beijing airport, then spent two weeks meeting all the other people with the company, some who would be in the same city as me, and doing a two week intense teaching week with some summer school students to complete the practical side of my TEFL qualification. As crazy and stressful as it was, being thrown into the deep end was the best thing because it meant I had to get involved straight away and just go for it, no time for being scared!

All too soon, those two weeks were up and it was time to get on a bullet train (400mph!) for 9hours to travel all the way to Guangzhou! Myself and the three other teachers were collected by our school, taken for a meal, and shown to our new apartments (in the Teachers Dormitory at the school) to settle in and get some sleep, ready to be up and out by 10am the next day to be shown around Foshan!
We settled in pretty fast, manage to figure out what buses went where, where the good places to eat were, how to work the metro, we’ve even become so localised that we now own travel cards that we use on the buses and metro and just top up when needed. Luckily Foshan and Guangzhou are so close to Hong Kong and Macau you can go for a day or weekend trip and just enjoy yourself! I’ve also become so used to the stares and sly photos being taken that I’m pretty much immune to it now. So many Chinese people must have photos of me or selfies with me on their phones it’s so strange to think about!

A month after being in Foshan, there was a public holiday for one week, and I managed to get the guts to go traveling a little bit! I headed to Guilin with some fellow teachers. I managed to successfully work the Chinese train online booking system, and we spent an amazing 3 days in Guilin and YangShuo. We travelled, saw pagodas, rice fields, traditional Chinese villages (a drastic change from the city life we had become used to!) and explored the Karst mountains via a tiny boat made up of 6 long plastic tubes tied together, a motor, and some wooden seats. That was an experience to say the least!

Since then I’ve gotten pretty confident, the students and teaching on a whole is less scary, and I’ve been having Chinese lessons to slowly pick it up! I’m nowhere near fluent yet, but it’s a big improvement. Conversations so far are a big the easiest, and reading menu’s in Chinese and is tricky so I usually order what I already know how to say, or point to the pictures. But hey, Chinese is the hardest language in the world, and it’s only been short amount of time so I’m doing pretty ok!
It’s safe to say I’ve fallen in love with China. People ask what it’s like, and quite frankly, it’s almost impossible to describe. It’s just a different world out here! I miss my family and friends, but after a while you start to forget and just settle in to life out here. There are times when you’ll get huge feelings of homesickness. Christmas out here is pretty hard, being so far away from family was horrible, but I take it as a chance to travel and distract myself with seeing friends in other cities or exploring new places.

Its currently mid-March, and I can’t believe how fast time has gone! In two weeks I’ll even be on Chinese TV judging at an Oral English competition!
In a way, I don’t want to leave, I could stay forever! But I know that if I stay for too many years then I will never leave, and I’ve other experiences to chase!
Teaching in China was an experience that I never expected to affect me in so many ways, nor this much. I’ve made friends that will be friends for life, and memories that I will never forget. It’s been months of adventures, and I’m certain there’s plenty more to come!

Travel grad have been amazing and supportive from start to finish, from me doing the TEFL course pre-covid, to securing my placement and landing in Thailand a few weeks ago.

They provided step by step instructions/guidance regarding any and all issues or questions with the application process, including VISA information, TEFL instructions, Legal docs, placement etc. (all the confusing stuff). All applicant documents/deadlines were super organised and we were kept up to date with exactly what had to be submitted when and where.

Andrew has been so helpful throughout and genuinely wants the best for you, you're always welcome to drop him a message about anything, he provided one-on-one advice throughout the application and he always responds incredibly quickly and at all hours of the day! Especially considering many covid related issues, Andrew and Travelgrad could not have made the Thailand application process easier.

I've already had so many amazing new experiences and seen some crazy things. As a first time teacher, I am so excited to be living and working in Thailand!

Travel grad have been amazing and supportive from start to finish, from me doing the TEFL course pre-covid, to securing my placement and landing in Thailand a few weeks ago.

They provided step by step instructions/guidance regarding any and all issues or questions with the application process, including VISA information, TEFL instructions, Legal docs, placement etc. (all the confusing stuff). All applicant documents/deadlines were super organised and we were kept up to date with exactly what had to be submitted when and where.

Andrew has been so helpful throughout and genuinely wants the best for you, you're always welcome to drop him a message about anything, he provided one-on-one advice throughout the application and he always responds incredibly quickly and at all hours of the day! Especially considering many covid related issues, Andrew and Travelgrad could not have made the Thailand application process easier.

I've already had so many amazing new experiences and seen some crazy things. As a first time teacher, I am so excited to be living and working in Thailand!

I wanted to travel after finishing uni and figured teaching abroad would likely be one of the most rewarding and effective options for combining travelling and living abroad with genuine and viable career prospects.

I think I found Andrew and travel grad via an online ad and made the decision to commit after an initial conversation over the phone. Andrew explained his background and immediately struck me as a very genuine character with his clients best interests at heart which has always proved to be the case. There were plenty of difficulties during my pre-arrival process, almost all of which resulting from COVID, but Travel grad were able to safely and professionally guide myself and plenty of others through the process, seek excellent alternatives and keep candidates’ spirits high.

I would absolutely recommend travel grad to anyone like myself and others, for first-timers and even for more experienced teachers seeking a new adventure.