Nearly half of the EU’s more than three million trainees receive no compensation and almost a third have no access to social protection

The EESC held a high-level debate in July on improving the EU legislation on traineeships amid calls from civil society and youth organisations to stop the widespread practice of trainees working for free and having no access to social protection or other labour and social rights.

In the plenary session debate with the Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, the EESC welcomed the Commission’s latest proposals aimed at improving traineeships in Europe - the Traineeship Directive and the Reinforced Quality Framework for Traineeships.

However, the EESC urged the co-legislators to bolster the proposals to prevent traineeships being misused as a source of cheap labour or a replacement for entry-level jobs. It stressed the importance of fair compensation for trainees and of covering the living expenses that they incur when taking part in a traineeship.

The EESC president, Oliver Röpke, said that ‘Traineeships are a pivotal tool enabling young people to acquire first-hand work experience. We must ensure that no young person is excluded from these opportunities due to financial constraints. That is why traineeships need to be fairly compensated. We must tackle exploitative traineeships in Europe, and I thank the Commission for its proposals to achieve this goal.’

Commissioner Schmit said that ‘Traineeships can be a great way for young people to get initial work experience, learn new skills and build their network. However, they must be good quality traineeships. This means that there must be a clear learning objective, they must be paid and trainees must receive mentoring and guidance to help them transition to the world of work.’

In its opinion on the Traineeship Directive and a Reinforced Quality Framework for Traineeships, the EESC underscored the key role played by the relevant authorities in combating regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships. The social partners can be instrumental in these efforts, in line with existing national practices.

‘Improving the Quality Framework for Traineeships across Europe, especially in terms of strengthening learning and training content, and combating the abuse and misuse of traineeships is essential. We therefore call on the Commission to improve the proposals put forward so as to ensure that these goals are met,’ said the rapporteur for the opinion, Nicoletta Merlo. (ll)