About Us
Our mandate is to facilitate worry-free international travel and work experiences for young Canadians and foreign nationals. We want to make sure that you have the best time of your life abroad with high quality support and services.
Therefore, we only work with renowned partner organizations that have years of experience supporting young travelers. We listen to the feedback from our participants and try to improve our programs wherever we can. If a program does not meet our high-quality standards, we will either search for an alternative or remove the program from our portfolio altogether. This way, you can be sure that we only offer programs that are truly tried and tested.
GO International was founded in 1994 and is a division of Tamwood International College Ltd.
GO International is a Canadian company that operates its own working holiday and volunteer programs in Canada and works with partner organizations around the world to deliver highly recognized work and travel, internship and au pair programs.
As a Recognized Organization (RO) of IEC, GO International has been designated a partner in raising awareness and providing support services to foreign national and Canadian youth.
All GO International staff have international travel and work experience. They know firsthand how exciting and nerve-racking it is at the same time to live abroad for a longer time. GO International wants to make sure that you have a worry-free and fun experience!
International Experience Canada (IEC) is the Government of Canada’s flagship youth mobility program, facilitating work and travel opportunities for thousands of Canadian and foreign youth each year. Although Canadian citizens enjoy passports that provide visa-free access to many countries around the world, most do not allow easy access to labour markets, making it difficult to obtain international work experience without specialized, in-demand skills. Through the negotiation of youth mobility arrangements, IEC facilitates international work experience opportunities for youth aged 18-35 in partner countries and territories around the world.
Originating in 1951 as a cultural youth exchange initiative following World War II, the program now has more than 30 active youth mobility arrangements with country and territory partners across Europe, East Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Its primary objectives include building the global competencies of Canadian and foreign national youth, and leveraging youth mobility arrangements as a strategic tool in diplomatic relations to strengthen global relationships.
For more information, have a look at our webpage about International Experience Canada.
There are many terms associated this initiative, but they are based on Youth Mobility agreements between two countries. You could also stumble on names such as Work and Travel and Work Abroad.
Working Holidays allow eligible youth to live in a foreign country for longer than the average tourist. Usually, Working Holiday visas are open work permits, which allow you to take up any temporary job for the duration of your visa. This provides you with the great opportunity to earn your travel and living costs while gaining international work experience and exploring another country and culture.
International Experience Canada (IEC) has three program streams through which foreign youth may work and travel in Canada:
- The working holiday stream facilitates work and travel through an open work permit that allows foreign youth to work for virtually any employer in any location in Canada;
- The international co-op and young professionals’ streams facilitate internships and professional work experience through employer-specific work permits.
Similarly, Canadian youth can access a variety of work-travel program streams in partner countries and territories. Access to specific work permit streams depends on the negotiated arrangement between Canada and each of its partners.