EU Commission takes action to improve the quality of traineeships in the EU

Brussels, 20 March 2024

Quality traineeships can help young people gain practical work experience, learn new skills and eventually find a good quality job. For employers, they are an opportunity to attract, train and retain talent. A quality traineeship requires fair and transparent working conditions and an adequate learning content.

The EU’s 2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships set out 21 quality principles to ensure high-quality learning and working conditions. In its 2023 evaluation of this Council Recommendation, the Commission found that it had a positive impact on the quality of traineeships in the EU. However, the Commission’s evaluation also found room for improvement and both the Conference on the Future of Europe and the European Parliament called on the Commission to improve traineeships.

Today, the European Commission is taking action and is proposing to improve working conditions for trainees, including pay, inclusiveness and quality of traineeships in the EU. The initiative consists of:

a proposal for a Directive on improving and enforcing working conditions for trainees and combatting regular employment relationships disguised as 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.

In 2019, the latest available reliable data, there were an estimated 3.1 million trainees in the EU. Approximately half of all trainees (1.6 million) were enrolled in paid traineeships.

Boosting rights for trainees

The proposed Directive will help Member States improve and enforce good quality working conditions for trainees, as well as combat regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships.

Key elements of the proposed Directive include:

the principle of non-discrimination, ensuring that trainees are treated equally in terms of working conditions, including pay, compared to regular employees, unless different treatment is justified on objective grounds, such as different tasks, lower responsibilities, work intensity or the weight of the learning and training component.
ensuring traineeships are not used to disguise regular jobs, through controls and inspections, with Member States using duration as a possible aspect to assess whether this is the case, and by asking companies to share traineeships’ numbers, durations and working conditions.
allowing workers’ representatives to engage on behalf of trainees to secure their rights.
requiring Member States to ensure channels for trainees to report malpractice and poor working conditions.

Fairer and more inclusive traineeships

The reinforced Council Recommendation applies to all trainees regardless of their employment status, including traineeships that are part of formal education and training curricula and those required for accessing specific professions.

Key elements of the revised Council Recommendation include:

recommending fair pay for trainees.
ensuring access to adequate social protection for trainees, including appropriate coverage in line with national legislation of the Member State.
appointing a mentor, to provide trainees with targeted support and advice.
promoting equal access to traineeship opportunities, through reaching out to people in vulnerable situations and by ensuring that workplaces are accessible for trainees with disabilities.
allowing for hybrid and remote working, by ensuring trainees receive the equipment needed.
increasing employability by additional career guidance and incentives to traineeship providers to offer trainees a regular position after their traineeship.

These new elements are in addition to what already exists in the 2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships Recommendation, such as having clear vacancy notices, providing a written agreement before the start of the traineeship setting out the terms, making sure traineeships are not excessively long or repeated, ensuring that the learning experience is a core part, guaranteeing the health and safety aspects, and promoting their recognition afterwards.

Next steps

The Commission’s proposed Directive will be discussed by the European Parliament and the Member States. Once the proposed Directive is adopted by the co-legislators, Member States will have two years to incorporate it into national law.

The Council Recommendation will be presented to the Council for consideration and adoption. Following this, the Commission will support Member States in implementing the Recommendation and will invite them to provide updates on national initiatives, reforms, best practices and statistics.

Background

The EU’s 2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships sets out 21 quality principles for traineeships that Member States are recommended to put into practice to ensure high-quality learning and working conditions. In its 2023 evaluation of this Council Recommendation, the Commission found that it had a positive impact on the quality of traineeships in the EU. At the same time, the evaluation found room for improvement in applying, monitoring and enforcing the framework’s quality principles.

It is estimated that there are around 3.1 million trainees in the EU (among them 1.6 million paid trainees) and the demand for traineeships is expected to grow at least by 16% by 2030. According to a 2023 Eurobarometer survey, 78% of young Europeans did at least one traineeship and 68% said they found a job afterwards. 21% of respondents did a traineeship in another Member State, marking a significant increase since 2013 (9%).

Today’s package follows up on the European Parliament resolution of June 2023, calling the Commission to update the 2014 Quality Framework; the Conference on the Future of Europe, where EU citizens asked the Commission to ensure quality traineeships; and the European Year of Youth. It also contributes to implementing the European Year of Skills and complements the reinforced Youth Guarantee and other Commission initiatives supporting youth employment.

For More Information

Questions & Answers on improving the quality of traineeships in the EU

Proposed Directive

Proposed Council Recommendation

Impact assessment

Commission’s 2023 evaluation of the 2014 Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships

Commission’s page on traineeships

European Year of Skills

Eurobarometer survey on traineeships

Subscribe to the Commission’s newsletter on employment, social affairs and inclusion

Quotes

Today’s package will promote quality traineeships across the EU, helping young people to access better opportunities to transition from education to the workplace, and assist businesses in finding, training and recruiting young talent. We want to create more opportunities across the board and offer paid traineeships that are accessible to all young people regardless of their socio-economic background. By improving this access as well as the quality of traineeships, we are also seeking to alleviate labour and skills shortages, helping companies to thrive and young people to find jobs that match their skills and interests. This in turn will help to create a more inclusive and dynamic labour market for young people in the EU.

Traineeships can be a great way for young people to get a first work experience, learn new skills, and build their network. However, they must be quality traineeships, meaning there’s a clear learning objective, they are paid, and the trainees can receive mentoring and guidance to help them transition to the world of work. We also need to make every effort to make traineeships more accessible and inclusive, they should not be just for a privileged few. Every young person in Europe deserves a good start to their working lives.

Source – EU Commission

Q&A: Improving the quality of traineeships in the EU

Brussels, 20 March 2024

Why is the Commission coming forward with new initiatives to improve the quality of traineeships?

Traineeships should be open to all young people, regardless of their socio-economic background, and should provide valuable experience to help them enter the labour market.

The 2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships outlines 21 principles for Member States to ensure high-quality traineeships, including by providing written traineeship agreements, clearly defined learning objectives, and transparent information on remuneration and social protection.

A Commission evaluation showed that the existing framework helps Member States ensure valuable professional experiences for young people. It highlighted the framework’s positive impact, particularly in countries with less developed traineeship systems, and confirmed the relevance of the EU framework. Nevertheless, it also noted there is room for improvement in applying, monitoring and enforcing the framework’s quality principles. In addition, the European Parliament in its June 2023 resolution, as well EU citizens through the Conference on the Future of Europe, called on the Commission to update the EU framework to ensure quality traineeships. The present initiative reflects the political commitment expressed in President von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines to respond to European Parliament resolutions.

Today the Commission takes action and is proposing a set of initiatives to ensure quality traineeships. The proposed Directive addresses the enforcement of working conditions of trainees who have a worker status under EU case law, national provisions and collective agreements, and combats employment relationships disguised as traineeships. The proposed reinforced Council Recommendation tackles issues linked to traineeships, such as fair remuneration, social protection and access to traineeships. It applies to all trainees, regardless of their employment status or the type of traineeship they are partaking in.

Today’s package also follows up on the European Year of Youth, contributes to implementing the European Year of Skills, and supports Commission initiatives for youth employment, such as the reinforced Youth Guarantee.

It also takes into account the April 2023 Eurobarometer survey on “Integration of young people into the labour market with particular focus on traineeships” showed 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.

What is new in the package presented today?

Combined, the newly proposed Directive and the reinforced Quality Framework for Traineeships will improve the use, quality and access to traineeships by:

improving the quality of traineeships through better working conditions and improved learning content, recommending that all traineeships should be paid fairly.
supporting trainees’ access to their labour rights under both EU and national law as well as preventing employers from disguising regular employment relationships as traineeships.
recommending access to adequate social protection for trainees, in line with Member State national legislation.
supporting young people’s access to stable careers through better guidance and support, both during and after their traineeships.
promoting equal access to traineeships for people in vulnerable situations, as well as making cross-border and remote/hybrid traineeships easier to access.

How does the Commission’s initiative respond to the resolution of the European Parliament and the Conference on the Future of Europe?

Today’s package largely reflects the priorities and measures outlined in the European Parliament’s June 2023 Resolution and the final report on the Conference on the Future of Europe.

First, the package includes a Directive aimed at improving trainees’ access to labour rights and ensuring traineeships are not used to replace regular jobs. Targeted inspections to combat abuse and improve enforcement, as requested by the European Parliament, will be integral to this effort.

In addition, with the proposed reinforced Council Recommendation the Commission calls on Member States to implement new quality principles, such as fair pay, access to adequate social protection for all trainees, improved access for vulnerable groups, and accessible workplaces. The Commission also advocates for increased support for cross-border traineeships and better data collection on traineeships.

What do the Commission’s initiatives say on the issue of pay?

The Commission fully supports the objective of improving the quality of traineeships, including on fair remuneration. Today’s package will help tackle the issue of quality traineeships in a comprehensive way, while respecting the limits of EU competence.

The proposed Directive introduces the principle of non-discrimination for trainees who are considered as “workers” under European Union case law, national provisions and collective agreements. It ensures that, as a rule, trainees are not treated less favourably regarding working conditions, such as pay, compared to regular employees of the same employer, unless there are objective grounds for differential treatment.

The reinforced Recommendation calls on Member States to ensure that all trainees are fairly paid.

What else is the Commission doing to support employment of young people?

The EU supports young people through a series of policy programmes, including:

The Youth Guarantee scheme, including the Youth Employment Initiative, has had a transformative effect on EU labour markets. Since 2014, approximately 50 million young people who were once registered in Youth Guarantee schemes have received an offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship and/or traineeship.
The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is the EU’s main instrument to invest in people, including support to youth employment. In the 2021-2027 programming period, Member States are investing around €17.3 billion from the ESF+ in youth employment.
The new initiative ALMA (Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve) targets disadvantaged young people who are not in employment, education or training.
The Recovery and Resilience Plans of EU Member States focus on policies for the next generation as one of their six pillars, in line with the reinforced Youth Guarantee. Member States have committed in their national plans to invest €6.1 billion in youth employment.
Erasmus+ allocates funding for education and training initiatives for young people. This includes reinforcing the quality of informal education (i.e., learning from daily life experience and the surrounding environment) and of non-formal learning (i.e., outside the formal education system). Erasmus+ also offers the opportunity for providers of vocational education and training (VET) and other organisations active in the field of VET to organise learning mobility activities for VET learners and staff.