Why apprentice mobility? 

Apprentice mobility is an area of great interest to many EAfA members. The Alliance even has a Community of Practice dedicated to the topic. Apprentice mobility is also closely aligned with broader, long-standing EU priorities and flagship initiatives. Some examples include Erasmus+, EURES, the European Qualifications Framework, ALMA, and the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships, which calls for the promotion of apprentice mobility. 

Apprentice mobility, however, is faced with several challenges. EU Member States have different legal traditions and policy approaches to apprenticeships: the diversity of national apprenticeship schemes makes it difficult to identify, compare and recognise learning periods abroad. In addition, the different statuses of apprentices across countries (i.e. employee or learner) create disparity in wages/compensation and social protection. It is not surprising that the most important stakeholders – companies and even apprentices themselves – are reluctant to actively engage in apprentice mobility, despite all the advantages it can offer in the long term. 

What does the toolkit on apprentice mobility include? 

The EAfA toolkit provides great added value to the main stakeholders involved in apprentice mobility. It offers helpful information, resources, good practice examples and self-assessment tools, tailored to the type of stakeholder using the toolkit. More specifically, the EAfA toolkit targets and provides tailored content for: 

• apprentices or apprentice organisations: concrete advice on how to prepare for a mobility experience, what to expect from it, and how to make use of it to strengthen your employability once your apprenticeship has concluded; 

• VET providers/companies: practical examples and concrete guidance on how to provide quality mobility opportunities and follow-up activities that can be beneficial to apprentices and businesses. 

How to access the toolkit? 

You can access the EAfA toolkit on apprentice mobility online on our dedicated EAfA toolkits webpage. The toolkit is also available to download below as a PDF.