MORE WORKERS TAKE A CAREER BREAK
Record number of workers are planning a career break. The latest research says that many people want to leave their job and travel the world. In the past, a gap year was for students or rich people. Now more and more ordinary workers are taking a break from their job. Almost one in five British workers – around five and a half million are planning to take a break from their careers. In the past five years, three million employees have taken a break. The research shows that more than half the people who are taking a career break want to travel and see the world. A third are looking for a break from office life.
Gap Year for Grown Ups is a company that provides career break projects for people over thirty. Even people in their fifties and sixties are taking career breaks. Some people went straight from university to work and now they want to travel. The majority of people who book with Gap Year for Grown Ups are women. Eighty per cent of their clients are female. Africa is the most popular destination, and South Africa is becoming more and more popular for people who want to do voluntary work as well as travel and go sightseeing.
British workers like companies that offer career breaks to their staff. One in four employees works for a company where career breaks are a staff perk. The government and finance and insurance industries are leading the way – 40 per cent of their employees can take a career break. They are followed by IT and telecoms staff (36 per cent) and medicine / the health service (25 per cent). The research shows that career breaks also help employers: companies that offer career breaks are able to recruit and keep good staff.
Glossary
break (n) time when you do not work or study
straight(adv) directly
recruit(v) find people to work in a company
Найдите слова в тексте для следующих определений:
1 a year away from college or work gap year
2 normal, not unusual _____________
3 adults ________________
4 opposite of minority ________________
5 woman / girl ________________
6 the place you travel to ________________
7 visiting places of interest (e.g. museums) ________________
8 special advantage that comes with a job ________________
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What sort of company is Manpower?
What types of workers does the article mention?
When did Manpower start?
What do employment agencies do?
What is another word for “temporary workers”?
What did people expect in their career ten years ago?
What can help a worker who wants to improve their career opportunities?
What have Japan, Australia and Italy started to do?
THE WORLD OF WORK
Manpower has been a successful employment agency for about 60 years. It has supplied temporary employees to companies since 1948. That’s when the first office opened in Milwaukee, in the USA. Two lawyers started the company when they were unable to find temporary help with a project. Today, it is a global company with offices all around the world.
Employment agencies supply companies with different types of workers. These include professional and administrative workers in offices, and manual workers in factories and on building sites. Temporary workers (also called ‘temps’) now make up between one and three per cent of the total workforce in most countries. Multinational companies have employed temps for a long time. Now smaller companies also use temporary workers.
Have careers changed very much since 19960s? A decade ago, people expected to work for the same company until they retired. Today, nobody expects a job for life any more. People move from job to job, working in different companies or in different departments. Training is important because it improves worker’s skills. This can help employees to find better jobs or get a promotion.
In some jobs there aren’t enough skilled workers. Some companies want retired people with skills to return to work. Japan, Australia and Italy have started to employ older workers. Companies need organizations like Manpower to arrange training for older employees, for example to use computers or to work with a younger boss.
Glossary
unable (adj) not able
building site (n) place where people do building work
workforce (n) all the employees in a country, industry or organization.
Найдите эквивалент слов
| 1 full-time worker 2 temporary worker 3 permanent worker 4 part-time worker 5 freelance worker 6 pension 7 promotion 8 flexible hours | a has a job for a long period of time bworkers choose when they work cworks a few days / hours a week d a better job in the same company e has a job for a short period of time f works for self not for a company gusually works 35-40 hours a week h money when you stop work |
1. Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы:
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