SWAP began by sending a small group of intrepid explorers off to New Zealand, but we’ve since grown into one of Canada’s top exchange organisations, helping aspiring young travellers navigate the exciting world of living and working abroad.

Today, at SWAP, we offer a variety of programmes for young Canadians, including traditional working holidays and even the hard-to-acquire US work visas. We also welcome international youth into Canada and support them through our hosting centres in Toronto and Vancouver. Our mission? To inspire Canadians and international youth to explore, work, give back, travel, and truly experience the world, and we’ve got the programmes to make your wildest travel dreams a reality!

What makes SWAP’s programmes different from other exchange or travel organisation?

SWAP is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025, so we have seen the trends change and supported generations of travellers throughout it all. We focus on working holiday experiences which offer longer-term travel options which provide a deeper cultural experience, with the bonus of earning money to offset the costs of travel, making our experiences accessible and affordable.

Can you tell us about some of the most popular programmes for Canadian youth and what experiences they offer?

The top SWAP programmes for Canadian youth right now are definitely Japan, South Korea and Australia. Japan and South Korea are both incredible destinations with traditional and modern culture. We just launched a ski placement programme in Japan for Canadians who want to show off their skiing and snowboarding skills and get paid to do it! Australia is also a hot destination, literally. Many of our Swappers are getting ready to head to Australia for an endless summer. We include an adventure-filled welcome week in either Sydney or Melbourne to start every working holiday off right.

SWAP started with New Zealand trips – how has the company evolved since then?

We’ve grown so much since we kicked things off in New Zealand. We now offer working holiday experiences across three continents, and we also provide support with the J1 visa programmes for interning and summer jobs in the USA. We’ve also recently joined the JENZA-IENA Group, which has expanded our reach and impact in the youth travel market.

What’s next for SWAP? Are there any exciting programmes or expansions on the horizon?

We are always looking to add new destinations and programme experiences! As a recognised organisation of the International Experience Canada department of the Canadian government, our focus is on offering new working holiday destinations based on our Youth Mobility Agreements (YMAs). We also see how valuable job placement programmes can be for Canadians who want peace of mind when working abroad, so we’re also developing more placements and new relationships with international employers.