Au Pair Cultural Immersion Gap Year in Italy

I found out about Scotia Personnel when walking through a career fair through my university. I was taking engineering and only had some experience working with kids when I did babysitting years before. I still applied because I thought going abroad for the Summer would be a great opportunity and even though I only had a small amount of experience in childcare, I had done good work in the past. Thanks to Scotia Personnel, I had two experiences working abroad. My first experience was when I got to work as a camp coach in The United Kingdom and the second time, I worked as an Au Pair in Italy for a family with two young boys. Both experiences, the most valuable things Scotia Personnel did was guide me through the process for my travelling, get me in contact with people I would be working with and they were understanding about any questions and problems I had when applying because it was my first time travelling out of country by myself. Before travelling, I tend to get nervous and anxious and Scotia Personnel really helped with my nerves. The first year, they got me in contact with another camp coach who I made a great friend with and the second year, I was speaking with my host family (now called my second family) a lot before leaving and helping me get in touch with people I would be spending my Summer with really helped ease my nerves both times. Both Summers were amazing experiences and before I got the call from Scotia Personnel after I applied the first time, I never would have thought I could have a job abroad while I was still in university. But more importantly, I never saw myself as a childcare worker. I did it before but I never thought it was more than a favor for my family friends (that I happened to get paid for). But now that I had my two experiences abroad, meeting new friends, experiencing different parts of the world and feeling like I had an impact on the kids I worked with, I can't imagine myself not having worked with Scotia Personnel. Which is crazy because I was debating on going to the career fair in the first place. If anyone is debating on taking a Summer to try an experience like becoming a camp coach or an Au Pair, I couldn't recommend it enough and Scotia Personnel made it so simple and way less stressful than I thought it would be. Also, being an Au Pair and a camp coach are very different experiences (I can't recommend one over the other either. They're both great but one feels like a fun summer camp with a different bunch of kids every week, and the other feels like you're a big brother/sister for your new family for a few months) and the process for recruiting for each of them are really different but I was able to do both seamlessly. So that is a testament to how easy they made the process. Thanks to everyone at Scotia Personnel, I had two of the best Summers of my life!

Scotia Personnel selected a lovely Italian family for me to AuPair with. For starters, I met them in France at their beachfront summer home. The family treated me very well and gave me a weekly stipend of 100 Euros. I spent most days hanging out with them on the beach, participating in outdoor activities, reading with my host brother, and engaging him in conversational English. After spending a few weeks in France, we then drove to their scenic home near Lake Como, in Italy. Throughout my experience in Italy and France, Scotia Personnel checked in with me to make sure that I was happy. My host family gave me free time on the weekends to explore other cities in Italy. I took the train to neighboring cities like Milan. Overall, my experience was amazing and I am so thankful for Scotia Personnel and their professionalism every step of the way.

Going abroad can be daunting, that's why you need expert companies like Scotia Personnel to help make your experience seamless and unforgettable. Go to Italy you won't regret it!

Shout out to Marilyn and Richelle!

The Scotia Personnel team are so fantastic! From the beginning to the very end they were there to answer any questions I had with a smile on. I first was contacted by Richelle (who's amazing) and she has really helped me with everything. Marilyn is also really helpful and knowledgable. The team is professional, punctual, and really friendly making them the perfect company to pair with for this experience. My au pair trip was the best decision I've ever made and it wouldn't have been possible without them. I would really urge anyone who wants to be an au pair to go through an agency for at least the first time. Because I had such an amazing experience, I would like to work for an agency myself one of these days and help others to accomplish their goals. Thank you so much Scotia Personnel, you've changed my life!

I started working with Scotia Personnel in October 2017. After hearing Marilyn speak at my college, I knew this was a company I wanted to partner with. At first contact, they helped me decide on what country I wanted to go to, sending me heaps of information about the destinations. When I decided to go to Italy, Scotia Personnel talked me through the process of interviewing with families. They checked in before the interviews and we discussed how I should present myself, key points about the family to take note of. Also, after each interview, they called again and we talked about what went well, what I liked and didn't like about the families, and what the next step would be.

When a family and I decided on each other, Scotia Personnel helped me with all of the legal paperwork, signing the contracts, and applying for a visa. I can honestly say that without the help of Richelle, I wouldn't have been able to navigate the Visa process. Once I got to Italy, Scotia Personnel checked in on me several times throughout my 10-month stay, and ensured I had a smooth and positive experience!

Scotia Personnel is a phenomenal company to work with. They are a highly organized and professional group of individuals who guide you through each and every step of the process to go abroad. Scotia Personnel patiently answers every question asked of them quickly and thoroughly. Throughout my entire experience with this illustrious company so far, Marilyn and her staff have been nothing but kind and informative. They were with me every step of the way, from picking a country, to interviewing with families, going to Italy, and returning home from my placement abroad. I highly recommend working with Scotia Personnel, and am looking forward to any future dealings I have with them!

This past year in the race of trying to find a summer job I stumbled upon Scotia Personnel on my university's job listing site. The job listed was an international Au-pair/ English Tutor and I knew that I wanted to go to Italy, but I didn’t know how I would make it happen. I applied anyway and I received a call. From there, everything was explained to me clearly and professionally. Scotia Personnel helped me realize that it was beyond possible for me to go! So, with all the program information in mind, I decided that I would go. When it was time for me to pick a family, they made sure that the families I chose from were safe and fit well for me. Through them, I found a wonderful family that I stayed with for 3 months in a small medieval town called Sarnano (near Ancona). It was amazing! We went to Rome, Tivoli, Florence, and Turin. By myself, I traveled to Milan, Bologna and even Ibiza in Spain! I learned so much Italian while I was in Italy, I went with a basic understanding of Italian and expanded my knowledge far beyond what I ever thought I would learn! Now I can read books and watch shows in Italian with little difficultly which feels amazing as I’ve been monolingual for most of my life. While I was away, Scotia Personnel checked up on me every so often to see if I was doing well and that I was happy. I’m so glad that I au-paired through them because they provided me another level of support that’s necessary when traveling abroad. Thank you so much Scotia Personnel!

This summer of 2019 I traveled abroad with Scotia Personnel. I stayed in Spain for one month and also Italy for one month. I had an excellent experience from start to finish. The associates at Scotia Personnel helped me through every step of the application process. I was paired with two wonderful and very accommodating families who went out of their way to make me feel like I was a member of the family! While working I was able to safely venture out into the city and explore with ease. Being completely immersed in the culture was such an incredible experience giving me memories to last a lifetime! I would recommend this program to anyone interested in travelling and networking! This is an opportunity you absolutely can't miss!

Teaching English in Verona, Italy was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Working with Scotia Personnel to further this experience was an incredible journey. The staff at Scotia Personnel are very easy to talk too and incredibly friendly. At first, I thought travelling and Nannying would be a cool experience but I never thought in my wildest dreams that it would come true, would be as seamless and easy as it was and that I would get to live in Italy with such an amazing family that I now call my Italian family. Going to Italy to live for two months was very scary…I didn’t speak the language, I didn’t know anyone and I was away from home in a different country for two months. To say the least this trip was life changing.

I arrived at the airport in Verona and my family was waiting for me with flowers. They were so excited to meet me and I felt the same. The language barrier was hard at first because I wanted to say so much to them and they wanted to say so much to me… thank you google translate haha!! I remember the little girl when I first met her had the biggest smile on her face and she kept hugging me and holding my hand. I immediately made a sister. She grew up with two older brothers so she was pretty excited to have an older sister. We did everything together. She especially loved it when I styled her hair.

Every person in their family opened me into their family with open arms. I went to a family party with about sixty extended family members attending. I was nervous because their English wasn’t great and I had to socialize with all these new people for the afternoon. Everyone was so excited to meet the “Canadian” girl. I was welcomed in by so many and it made me feel like family. The family offered me many things such as the option to travel, go out and explore, meet new people, have evenings out, taste new foods and see a new part of the world. The family was so excited to show me around Italy. We went to Venice for the day and got to see the canals and do a gondola ride. We also got to see a city that is all built on water which was unique.

Feeling nervous and anxious is normal and it just means you’re going outside of your comfort zone. I truly believe to have the greatest experiences of your life – you need to be outside of your comfort zone. This trip made me go out of my comfort zone because everything was a new experience in a new culture, which is why I truly believe this was the most amazing experience I have ever had. I have some new family members and a forever connection to Verona, Italy.

Scotia personnel is an incredible company! The vast opportunities they offer has something for everyone. They treat everyone like family from the moment you walk in their door. Creating opportunities all around the world with your safety being their number one priority. I could not say enough good things about this company.

I just recently came back from tutoring in Italy and I wanted to share how amazing my experience was! It was honestly the best summer of my life and I am so grateful for every thing that Scotia personnel did for me; Thank you so much. I made so many friends while travelling who I am already planning on going to go see. The food was so good In Italy. I have done a fair amount of travelling but have never had an experience as authentic as this one. Living and working with a host family I picked up Italian so easily being completely immersed in it. Obviously the locals no all of the best spots and my host family was so excited for me to fall In love with their country that they took me everywhere. Paying for everything. They also took me to Switzerland and Germany so not only did I get to go to one country I got to experience 3. The two little girls will forever be like little sisters to me. I encourage everyone to participate one of the many programs offered the hardest part was choosing what country to go to. The experience was extremely safe and organized and I am very happy to have worked with Scotia personnel.