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BackThe Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs met in Brussels this week. One item on their agenda was a recommendation of the Council on a quality framework for traineeships. The main objective of the recommendation is to increase the quality of traineeships in respect of learning content and working conditions in order to make the transition from education, unemployment or inactivity into working life easier. Other principles of the agreement concern for example the duration and also the active involvement of the social partners. The Member States shall implement the recommendations before the end of 2015.
The crisis has a particular strong impact on young people
Over the past years, youth unemployment has reached record levels in several Member States and there is no indication that this trend will be reversed any time soon. Improving young people’s employability is an important aspect of enabling them to gain a foothold in the labour market. To achieve the main target of the Europe 2020 Strategy, according to which the employment rate shall be raised to 75 % for women and men aged between 20 and 64 by 2020, education and training of young people must be improved and their transfer into working life made easier. In particular over the past 20 years, traineeships have become an important entry-level opportunity into the labour market. Hence, it is more than appropriate to create rules, not least given the fact that a significant part of traineeships suffers from quality problems.
To use trainees as cheap or even unpaid labour must be a thing of the past
The centrepiece of the quality framework for traineeships is the written traineeship agreement, setting out the educational objectives, adequate working conditions, rights and duties as well as an appropriate duration for the respective traineeship. This shall guarantee that it will no longer be possible to use future trainees as cheap or even unpaid labour. However, it has also been determined that the recommendation by the Council does not apply to traineeships, which are a component of curricula of formal education or of vocational education and training. Also excluded from the quality framework are traineeships, whose content is subject to national legislation, and whose completion is a mandatory precondition to pursue a specific profession (e.g. physician, architect etc.).
The next steps – social partners to play an important role
The Member States have agreed that appropriate measures have to be taken to enable the fastest possible implementation of the quality framework for traineeships. The EU Commission has to be informed about the results by the end of 2015. It is important that the social partners will also be playing an important role as to design, execution and monitoring of vocational training strategies and programmes and that they will be closely involved in the implementation of the quality framework in the individual Member States.
Further information:
Press release of the Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs following the Council Meeting on 10.3.2014
Over the past years, youth unemployment has reached record levels in several Member States and there is no indication that this trend will be reversed any time soon. Improving young people’s employability is an important aspect of enabling them to gain a foothold in the labour market. To achieve the main target of the Europe 2020 Strategy, according to which the employment rate shall be raised to 75 % for women and men aged between 20 and 64 by 2020, education and training of young people must be improved and their transfer into working life made easier. In particular over the past 20 years, traineeships have become an important entry-level opportunity into the labour market. Hence, it is more than appropriate to create rules, not least given the fact that a significant part of traineeships suffers from quality problems.
To use trainees as cheap or even unpaid labour must be a thing of the past
The centrepiece of the quality framework for traineeships is the written traineeship agreement, setting out the educational objectives, adequate working conditions, rights and duties as well as an appropriate duration for the respective traineeship. This shall guarantee that it will no longer be possible to use future trainees as cheap or even unpaid labour. However, it has also been determined that the recommendation by the Council does not apply to traineeships, which are a component of curricula of formal education or of vocational education and training. Also excluded from the quality framework are traineeships, whose content is subject to national legislation, and whose completion is a mandatory precondition to pursue a specific profession (e.g. physician, architect etc.).
The next steps – social partners to play an important role
The Member States have agreed that appropriate measures have to be taken to enable the fastest possible implementation of the quality framework for traineeships. The EU Commission has to be informed about the results by the end of 2015. It is important that the social partners will also be playing an important role as to design, execution and monitoring of vocational training strategies and programmes and that they will be closely involved in the implementation of the quality framework in the individual Member States.
Further information:
Press release of the Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs following the Council Meeting on 10.3.2014