While some expat spouses may want career assistance, others may be looking for work alternatives to make their new lives abroad more satisfying. Janet Inglis reports on the possibilities.

Managers and HR departments have only relatively recently – finally – woken up to the fact that an accompanying partner’s career may be of paramount importance in attracting and retaining staff. “Dual career partnerships” is the current buzz phrase, and some firms are making serious attempts to help partners find employment.

Not every trailing partner wants to find a job, however. Some partners – the majority are still women – are positively pleased to have a break from the workplace. They may have young children and want to spend time with them, or have elderly parents back home and need to regularly visit them.

They may simply want time to reassess their career values and aspirations. Or they may not even be on their way up the career ladder – not everybody is.

According to Rosalind Paterson, director of Tristar Relocations in Amsterdam, a high proportion of accompanying partners do not want to find a job.

“It’s at least half, and the figure could be as high as 60 to 70 percent,” she says. “Remember that partners have a lot to contend with after a move and for many their major preoccupation is making sure that the family situation is stable.”

Tristar Relocations helps partners find their niche.

“When someone says, ‘I’ve always wanted to…’, then we prepare the path for them,” explains Paterson. “We find the appropriate organisations, clubs and courses and research what they have to offer.”

One of Paterson’s current clients has a partner wants to do lyrical painting classes, gymnastics, tae-kwon-do, karate and gain his pilot’s licence — and all are possible.

Louise, an American woman whose husband works for an American company in The Hague, had two young children when she arrived and soon after that was pregnant again. “There was no way I wanted to have young children and go out to work – what’s the point in having children if you can’t have time at home to enjoy them?” she says.

Louise had worked in art gallery in the US, but didn’t think she’d easily find a job in the Netherlands with her degree in art history. “I know some women take low-paid jobs just to get out of the house, but I don’t feel the need to do that,” she explains.

“Although I like to meet up with friends, I’m quite happy with my own company for long periods of time and I always have plenty to do. I’m completely involved in my home and children. We have animals, too, and I have to take time to take care of them.”

She’s not the only satisfied, expat stay-at-home spouse. Margaret arrived in the Netherlands from England a few months ago with her husband, who works for Shell. She plays badminton, sings in the British choir and takes Dutch lessons.

“I’m a special needs teacher and have also taught English as a second language, so it’s always a possibility to use that experience and training,” says Margaret. “But at the moment I don’t feel the need to go out and do anything. I don’t mind being at home all day; in fact, I think ‘Oh good!’ if I find I have a whole day to myself.”

New directions

Besides focusing more on the family, a move to a new country provides a chance to take a different direction, to retrain, or to expand horizons in new ways. So what can non-working partners do with their time if they want it to be both enjoyable and profitable?

Education is always an option. The British Open University (www.open.ac.uk) currently has thousands of students of many different nationalities who pursue MBAs courses to certificate courses in French or computing, as well as psychology and law degrees. This is distance learning at its best, with well-written course material and support by telephone and/or e-mail from personal tutors.

Nuffic, the Dutch authority responsible for higher education courses in English, has a website that lists hundreds of course in English at Dutch universities (www.nuffic.nl).

It also publishes a Catalogue of International Courses in The Netherlands, a very useful book.

Learn the language

Sadly, those who enter an international workplace almost as soon as they step off the plane rarely manage to fulfil their ambition to learn the language – there simply isn’t the time.

The non-working partner has time to devote to classes, and may make valuable friendships while there, as well as achieve a degree of access to the culture that is only available to those who speak the language.

Volunteer

ACCESS (The Administrative Committee to Coordinate English Speaking Services, www.access-nl.org) in the Netherlands is always looking for volunteers and needs at least 100 people to maintain its services to the expat community.

A similar, well-established non-profit organisation in Brussels, Community Help Service (+32-(0)2 648 40 14), employs volunteer staff to answer calls on any topic — international schools to culture shock to finding an English-speaking plumber — from English-speaking people who live in Belgium.

International schools and clubs everywhere are also always on the look-out for volunteers for a variety of functions.

Enjoy the country and the rest of Europe

There is so much to see in a new country, it is possible for an expat spouse (and the rest of the family) to be a perpetual tourist. The Netherlands and Belgium are compact countries with highly accessible museums, galleries, picturesque villages and areas of wooded, open country that are easy to explore by train or bike.

Germany and France have even more to offer by way of culture and sightseeing opportunities. Proximity to the rest of Europe is also a major plus for the expat. Spain, Italy or Luxembourg may only be a day trip away, and the euro means that tiresome and costly money exchange has gone for good. Clubs and societies often organise trips to local sites of interest.

Socialise

Many expat women find friendships and an outlet for their skills in an international club.

The variety of international, English-speaking clubs and societies for expats —over 80 in the Netherlands that range from small, close-knit church groups to large and loosely defined social organisations — means every expat spouse can find one to suit their needs.

The Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas lists clubs around the world on its website (www.fawco.org). Many clubs are listed on the Expatica sites, with links to their websites.

Take up a new hobby

Taking flight lessons, flower arranging, learning about aromatherapy, or working in Tiffany glass — practically ever hobby can be catered to in English in the Netherlands, and frequently in other parts of Europe.

Those who already have skills which they would like to pass on to others will readily find clients if they offer classes on a freelance basis.

The bottom line for HR

The message for HR departments: don’t assume that every accompanying spouse is desperate to find work. Treat each one as an individual and take time to find out what he or she really wants from their time in Europe.

If a job is not in the cards, reassure employees that there are plenty of attractive alternatives for their accompanying partners – and tell them about the adventure of discovering them.

March 2002

Janet Inglis is the author of Handling Holland: A Manual for International Women, published in January 2002 by Xpat Media (www.xpat.nl) She is a chartered psychologist who offers a careers advice service to international women in Holland. See her website at www.careersadvice.org