In 2014, the Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships (QFT)introduced a series of principles for traineeships in the European Union, focusing on open market traineeships and active labour market policies traineeships. The 2023 evaluation of the QFT and the 2023 Eurobarometer survey on traineeships pointed to improvements in the quality of traineeships but persisting challenges regarding working conditions and abusive traineeships.
The Study exploring the context, challenges and possible solutions in relation to the quality of traineeships in the EU, conducted by CEPS and Open Evidence for the European Commission (DG EMPL) measured the prevalence of traineeships across the EU and analysed the remaining issues with the quality of traineeships in the EU, focusing on three areas: the problematic use of traineeships, ii) poor-quality traineeships and iii) unequal access to traineeships. The study then assessed the expected economic, social and fundamental rights impacts of potential measures in these three areas for trainees, traineeship providers and public authorities. The final report of the study is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=8614&furtherPubs=yes
The study informed the European Commission proposal for a Directive and a reinforced QFT Recommendation to improve working conditions for trainees as well as the quality and inclusiveness of traineeships, accessible at: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&furtherNews=yes&newsId=10791#navItem-1