Traineeships

Quality traineeships can help young people gain practical work experience, learn new skills and eventually find a job. For employers, they are an opportunity to attract, train and retain talent.

In 2024 the Commission proposed an initiative to improve working conditions of trainees and ensure that regular employment cannot be disguised as traineeships. In addition, the new traineeships initiative addresses issues of quality, including fair pay and access to adequate social protection, and aims at improving traineeships’ inclusiveness.

What are traineeships

Traineeships are understood as a limited period of work practice, which includes a significant learning and training component. Traineeships are a common way for young people to gain practical work experience before entering regular jobs or accessing a profession, and can therefore improve their employability.

Benefits of traineeships – provided they are of good quality

A Flash Eurobarometer survey in 2023 confirmed that traineeships are an important stepping stone for young people into the labour market:

four in five young people (78%) surveyed did at least one traineeship, and for one in five (19%) their first work experience was a traineeship
seven in ten people (68%) found a job following a traineeship, with more than half of those (39%) signing a contract with the same employer
a clear majority of respondents (76%) overall agreed that during their traineeship they learnt things that are useful professionally

Overall, the 2013 Eurobarometer survey showed that the situation of trainees has improved in the past ten years. But there is still a need to further improve the quality of traineeships, so that they are even more valuable both for trainees and for employers.

Further information on traineeships:

study providing an overview of remuneration practices for so-called ‘open-market traineeships’ in the EU Member States (2021)
Eurofound report on the abuse of traineeship status (2017)

2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships

At EU level, the 2014 Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships (QFT) has for the past ten years been the reference framework to promote quality traineeships.

For traineeships outside formal education, the QFT recommends 21 principles that provide guidelines on how to ensure high quality learning content and fair working conditions so that traineeships support education-to-work transitions and increase the employability of trainees.

The QFT also highlights the importance of transparency regarding compensation, health and accident insurance, as well as recruitment policies of traineeship providers. These aspects should be clear to applicants already at the stage of the application for a traineeship position.

In 2023 the Commission evaluated the QFT Recommendation. The evaluation focussed on the implementation of the Recommendation, and its contribution across the EU to strengthen the quality of traineeships. The evaluation showed that:

The Quality Framework for Traineeships has helped Member States implement policy and legislative changes, in particular in countries with less developed traineeship systems. However, there is room for improvement when it comes to the application on the ground.
Various consulted parties suggest that the framework's quality criteria could be strengthened, for instance as regards fair remuneration, access to social protection or adapting it better to labour market developments (e.g. remote work).
Some stakeholders also suggest guaranteeing better support to trainees, for example through mentorship.
Although more young people appear to be taking up traineeships in other EU countries, the cost of living abroad and the lack of relevant information were identified as challenges for cross-border uptake of traineeships.

You can find the more information in the Evaluation report as well as the study supporting the evaluation of the QFT.

More information on the implementation of the Quality Framework for Traineeships is available in:

the 2016 Communication 'Youth Guarantee and Youth Employment Initiative – three years on'
the 2016 Staff Working Document on Applying the Quality Framework for Traineeships
the conclusions from the 2019 Seminar: Creating conditions for quality traineeships
the conclusions from the 2017 Quality traineeships in the EU conference

New Commission proposal for quality traineeships

Following the results of the evaluation as well as calls made by stakeholders, in March 2024, the Commission proposed an initiative to further improve the quality of traineeships. The new initiative aims to improve working conditions of trainees, including pay, as well as the inclusiveness and quality of traineeships in the EU. The Commission’s new initiative consists of:

a proposal for a Directive on improving and enforcing working conditions for trainees and combatting regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships (also called ‘bogus traineeships’) and
a proposal to revise the 2014 Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships to address issues of quality and inclusiveness, such as fair pay and access to social protection.

The objective of the proposals is that traineeships provide a genuine learning and work experience, which makes it easier for trainees to transit from education to work, or from job to job. The proposals aim also to guarantee more equal access for all who are interested in doing a traineeship. For companies, the proposal aims to offer level playing field and diminish unfair competition throughout the European Union, as companies will not be able to disguise work relationships as traineeships.

The Commission proposal was accompanied by an impact assessment, and backed by a study exploring the contexts, challenges and possible solutions in relation to the quality of traineeships in the EU.

The package is the Commission’s response to the European Parliament’s resolution of 14 June 2023 on quality traineeships in the EU, calling on the Commission to strengthen and transform the 2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships into a stronger legislative instrument.

It is the Commission’s follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, contributing to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, and the objectives of the European Year of Youth.

Furthermore, it forms an important contribution to the European Year of Skills 2023, supporting training and labour market participation of young people.

It takes into account the views of the European social partners, expressed in the 2-phase social partner consultation, as well as the Review of the European Court of Auditors.

Traineeships under the Youth Guarantee

Traineeships are widely used as part of the reinforced Youth Guarantee, which provides 15 to 29 year-olds with an offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship or traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving education. Traineeship offers under the Youth Guarantee should use the Quality Framework for Traineeships as a reference.

Based on experience from the first years of implementation of the Youth Guarantee, the report Traineeships under the Youth Guarantee – Experience from the ground looks at how traineeships can be successful learning experiences for young people, supporting them to acquire essential skills for the labour market. The report also looks at different measures that contribute to the quality of traineeships and prevent their misuse.

Are you looking for a traineeship?

In Europe

The EURES portal lists traineeships for young people in EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. You can also find other information on traineeships abroad, such as rules and regulations and how to move to another country on the Living and Working Conditions section.
Erasmus+ supports traineeships abroad for students currently enrolled in higher education institutions. These opportunities are also open to recent graduates. Between 2014 and 2022 more than 750,000 young people in higher education participated in an Erasmus+ funded traineeship abroad.
Digital Opportunity Traineeships are offered under Erasmus+. This scheme, which is part of the Erasmus+ traineeship activity, gives students and young graduates the possibility to learn advanced digital skills on the job and to experience the tech sector. The scheme started in 2018 as a pilot co-financed by the Horizon 2020 research programme. The scheme has proven to be highly successful, supporting almost 50.000 traineeships. The Digital Education Action Plan, launched in 2021, aims to extend the initiative also to higher education staff as well as VET students and teaching staff.

At the Commission

If you are interested in becoming a trainee in the European Commission, see the dedicated webpage on traineeships in the European Commission for more details.