Gap years 'becoming more focused'

Fewer people taking gap years are setting off on an aimless 'wander' around the globe with their backpack, it has been suggested.

Writing for This Is Money, Jo Thornhill suggested that more gappers are signing up for structured gap year projects as they bid to make the most of their year out.

"Gone are the days of touring South-East Asian beaches for months on end," she said.

"The new generation of gappers take shorter, more focused trips, motivated by the desire to gain valuable skills and work experience."

Ms Thornhill said young people are conscious of the need to be seen as employable upon their return home.

According to the news provider, more than one million Brits aged between 16 and 24 are expected to go on a gap-style trip between now and August 2012.

This Is Money claimed that the rise in tuition fees will not dissuade people from taking time out to go travelling in a different part of the world.

Check out all the different gap year programs on offer.