Study on a comprehensive overview on traineeship arrangements in Member States

The main purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the legal frameworks and current practices of traineeships in all EU Member States. The study will help to inform policy development at European level in view of fostering the labour market integration of young people, as outlined in the Europe 2020 flagship initiative "Youth on the Move" presented by the European Commission in September 2010(http ://www.youthonthemove.eu). The study aims to collect most up-to-date and state-of the-art information about traineeships, through a combination of documentary analysis,stakeholder interviews and case studies.

Traineeships are seen as an effective mechanism which allows young people to familiarise themselves with the world of work, thus facilitating their transition from education (or a period of inactivity or unemployment) to employment. However, there are also growing concerns across the EU about the quality and fairness of traineeships as well as their effectiveness as a school-to-work transition mechanism. The availability and quality of information on traineeships is rather uneven across the EU.

For the purposes of this study the following five types of traineeships were examined:

• Traineeships which form optional or compulsory part of academic and/or vocational curricula (i.e. traineeships during education);
• Traineeships in the open market which, after completion of studies, provide graduates with work-related experience before they find stable employment;
• Traineeships as part of active labour market policies (ALMPs) for unemployed young people with the explicit aim to facilitate their labour market transition;
• Traineeships which form part of mandatory professional training, e.g. law, medicine, teaching, architecture, accounting, etc.; and
• Transnational traineeships.