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

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
• 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 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.