COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Towards a Quality Framework on Traineeships Second-stage consultation of the social partners at European level under Article 154 TFEU
Date: 2012-12-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: access to a profession, job access, job creation, labour mobility, quality standard, traineeship, youth unemployment

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 5.12.2012  
COM(2012) 728 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Towards a Quality Framework on Traineeships 

Second-stage consultation of the social partners at European level 
under Article 154 TFEU 
{SWD(2012) 407 final} 
{SWD(2012) 408 final} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Towards a Quality Framework on Traineeships 

Second-stage consultation of the social partners at European level 
under Article 154 TFEU 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  aim  of  this  Communication  is  to  seek  the  views  of  the  social  partners  at  EU  level,  in 
accordance  with  Article  154(3)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union 
(TFEU),  on  the  content  of  a  Commission  proposal  for  a  European  Quality  Framework  for 
Traineeships,  and  to  ask  whether  they  wish  to  enter  into  negotiation  as  provided  by  Article 
154(4) TFEU. 

In the communication Towards a job rich recovery1 of 18 April 2012 (Employment Package), 
the  Commission  announced  that  it  would  present  a  Council  Recommendation  on  a  quality 
framework  for  traineeships  by  the  end  of  2012.  In  parallel,  a  public  consultation  was 
launched2 to seek the views of different stakeholders about the need for such an initiative, its 
scope,  form  and  possible  content.  The  public  consultation  received  over  250  responses,  of 
which  29  came  from  national  and  regional  governments  (ministries  and  agencies),  8  from 
trade  unions,  40  from  employer  organisations  and  business  representatives,  14  from  youth 
(umbrella) organisations, 33 from education institutions, 11 from other organisations and 117 
from private individuals. There was broad agreement on the important role of traineeships in 
smoothing the transition from education to work and on the need for high-quality traineeships. 
Trade  unions,  the  NGO  community,  most  educational  institutions,  private  individuals  and 
several national governments expressed their support for a quality framework for traineeships. 

In their replies to the public consultation, the European social partners asked to be formally 
consulted on the possible direction of action under the procedure provided for in Articles 154 
and 155 TFEU. According to these articles, the Commission must consult the social partners 
before submitting proposals in the social policy field. 

The  Commission  accepted  the  request  of  social  partners,  stressing  that  they  can  play  a  key 
role in establishing and implementing a quality framework on traineeships. On 11 September 
2012, the European social partners were invited to give their views on the possible direction 

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COM(2012) 173 final. 
SWD(2012) 99 final. 

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of EU action in a first-stage consultation. Following the responses received, the Commission 
is now launching a second-stage consultation on the content of the proposal3. 

This Communication brings together the main results of this first-stage consultation as well as 
recent evidence about quality problems related to traineeships. It goes on to set out options for 
EU-level  action.  To  help  the  social  partners  prepare  their  replies  to  this  consultation,  this 
Communication  is  accompanied  by  an  analytical  document  giving  background  information 
and analysis (e.g. giving a definition of traineeships' types, their benefits and costs, reporting 
stakeholders views, problem definition and policy objectives)4. 

Traineeships are understood as a limited period of  work practice spent at a business, public 
body  or  non-profit  institution  by  students  or  young  people  having  recently  completed  their 
education,  in  order  to  gain  valuable  hands-on  work  experience  ahead  of  taking  up  regular 
employment.  There  are  five  main,  –  partly  overlapping  -  types  of  traineeships:  traineeships 
during  education;  traineeships  forming  part  of  mandatory  professional  training  (e.g.  law, 
medicine, teaching, architecture, accounting, etc.); traineeships as part of active labour market 
policies; traineeships on the open market; transnational traineeships. 

Regarding the scope of the initiative, while the decision is left to social partners, open-market 
traineeships  could  be  a  target,  given  that  they  represent  the  most  problematic  segment.  But 
there are alternatives: the scope of the measures could be either widened or restricted to apply 
to cross-border traineeships only, or to traineeships above a certain duration. Another issue is 
whether  sectoral  specificities  would  warrant  tailoring  or  limiting  the  measures  to  certain 
industries.  

2. 

THE FIRST-STAGE CONSULTATION OF THE SOCIAL PARTNERS 

There is broad consensus among EU social partners that traineeships have an important role in 
smoothing the transition between education and work, particularly in the context of the crisis. 
In  2010,  the  cross-sectoral  social  partners  had  agreed  to  ‘promote  more  and  better 
apprenticeship and traineeship contracts’ as a key action under their Framework Agreement 
on Inclusive Labour Markets. All respondents agree on the important role of social partners in 
supporting the provision of traineeships and urge the Commission to provide financial support 
to  increase  the  number  of  traineeships,  including  by  launching  large  scale  EU-level 
programmes. However, the first-stage consultation shows diverging views regarding the need 
for  an  EU  initiative,  its  scope,  the  form  such  an  initiative  should  take  and  the  main  quality 
elements that the initiative could cover. 

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The possible outcomes of this procedure are the following: social partners can enter into negotiations, 
and  may  reach  an  autonomous  agreement  or  they  may  ask  the  Commission  to  make  a  legislative 
proposal  based  on  their  agreement.  If  social  partners  fail  to  agree  or  decide  not  to  negotiate,  the 
Commission has to assess the situation and decide whether to present its own proposal. 
SWD(2012) 407 of 5 December 2012. 

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Trade  unions  consider  EU  action  on  traineeships  ‘absolutely  necessary’.  ETUC5  is  very 
concerned  about  the  large  number  of  young  people  who  linger  in  traineeship  positions, 
sometimes for several years. All too often, these young people have neither a clear status nor 
any entitlement to social protection and earn far less than the minimum wage. In other words, 
they provide a service equivalent to that of an employee but without any comparable benefit. 
Therefore ETUC insists that, to address these issues, a quality framework should be laid down 
in  legislation  or  in  a  collective  agreement.  ETUC  agrees  with  the  Commission’s 
analysis/definition  of  the  quality  elements  laid  down  in  the  consultation  document 
(traineeship  contract,  clear  objectives  and  content,  limited  duration,  adequate  social 
security/remuneration  etc.)  and  underlines  that  social  partners  must  be  actively  involved  in 
this  process  at  every  stage  and  at  every  level.  ETUC  also  highlights  the  need  to  monitor 
compliance with a future quality framework. 

Employer  organisations  adopt  a  more  sceptical  stance  and  underline  the  need  to  clearly 
distinguish traineeships from apprenticeships. BusinessEurope questions whether the need for 
an EU initiative is justified. Employer organisations accept that there may be quality concerns 
regarding some traineeships, but in their view, such concerns should be addressed at national 
or regional level. They argue that the EU does not have sufficient competence, particularly on 
the issue of remuneration. 

BusinessEurope argues that remuneration and social protection issues may not fall under EU 
competence and, in any case, small businesses would have problems applying them. Although 
it is acknowledged that traineeships offer significant advantages for SMEs (in particular the 
possibility  of  screening  potential  future  employees,  recruiting  and  retaining  high-skilled 
workers  and  enhancing  their  corporate  image  at  relatively  low  cost),  UEAPME6  underlines 
that small businesses face particular difficulties when offering traineeship placements due to 
relatively higher levels of costs. CEEP7 favours an EU-level quality framework in the form of 
a set of overarching principles. 

BusinessEurope  and  UEAMPE  cite  the  need  to  keep  the  framework  sufficiently  flexible  to 
accommodate  the  diversity  of  national  systems  and  practices.  Concerns  are  raised  about 
traineeship  schemes  becoming  overburdened  with  too  many  legal  or  administrative 
procedures  that  could  discourage  companies  from  taking  on  trainees,  thus  depriving  young 
people of valuable work experience opportunities. 

There  is  a  broad  agreement  that  most  reported  problems  concern  open-market  traineeships 
and  several  organisations  (including  many,  but  not  all,  employer  organisations)  suggest 
limiting the framework to open-market traineeships.  

At the Social Dialogue Committee meeting of 23 October 2012, BusinessEurope, CEEP and 
UEAPME expressed the readiness of EU employers to start discussions on traineeships as part 
of  the  EU  social  partner  autonomous  negotiations  on  a  Framework  of  Action  on  Youth 

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European Trade Union Confederation. 
European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. 
European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public services. 

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Employment. ETUC explained that, while it is fully committed to participate in the EU social 
partners  negotiations  on  the  Framework  of  Action  and  it  welcomed  the  Commission’s 
initiative  to  work  towards  a  quality  framework  for  traineeships,  it  considered  that  the 
discussions  under  the  Framework  of  Action  are  not,  at  this  stage,  the  appropriate  place  for 
negotiations  on  traineeships  under  Article  154  TFEU.  Both  sides  highlighted  that  the 
positions they expressed at the stage of the first consultation do not prejudge their positions at 
the stage of a (possible) second consultation. 

3. 

PROBLEMS RELATED TO TRAINEESHIPS 

Despite the fact that traineeships have a number of benefits not only for trainees, but also for 
employers,  and  society  as  a  whole,  all  the  EU  institutions  have  voiced  concerns  about  the 
effectiveness,  availability  and  quality  of  traineeships.  In  2010,  the  European  Parliament 
adopted a resolution calling specifically for better and secured traineeships and for a European 
quality  charter  setting  out  minimum  standards  for  traineeships  to  ensure  their  educational 
value  and  avoid  exploitation8.  In  April  2012,  the  European  Commission  announced  in  the 
Employment Package9 a proposal for a quality framework on traineeships by the end of 2012. 
In  June  2012,  the  European  Council  concluded  that  ‘it  is  crucial  to  address  youth 
unemployment,  in  particular  through  the  Commission’s  initiatives  on  youth  guarantees  and 
the quality framework for traineeships’10. 

The high level of political attention is due to the fact that a substantial share of traineeships 
suffer  from  problems  such  as  an  insufficient  learning  content,  no  or  low  compensation, 
unsatisfactory terms and conditions on arrangements other than remuneration/compensation, 
(such as substandard working conditions). There are also problems related to the low level of 
intra-EU mobility for trainees11. 

In  all  Member  States,  youth  unemployment  rates  are  much  higher  than  for  the  rest  of  the 
working age population —– on average twice as high. This is due to a number of reasons, in 
particular the lack of work experience of new entrants in the labour market. This emphasises 
the  importance  of  traineeships  in  smoothing  the  transition  from  education  to  work  and, 
ultimately,  in  helping  to  bring  down  youth  unemployment.  An  effective  quality  framework 
should provide guidelines to help employers set up more traineeships that both benefit their 
business and give trainees a good stepping stone into the labour market. 

On the other hand, low-quality traineeships that do not boost the trainee’s employability, that 
do  not  offer  a  minimum  level  of  protection  and  that  are  used  as  a  low-cost  replacement  for 
existing jobs can discourage young people from investing in traineeships and can distort the 

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EP 2009/2221(INI), 14.6.2010. 
COM(2012) 173, 18.4.2012. 
EUCO 76/12, 28-29 June 2012 . 
European  Commission  (2012):  Study  on  a  comprehensive  overview  on  traineeship  arrangements  in 
Member States (henceforth ‘the Traineeships study’).  

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labour  market.  In  a  number  of  Member  States,  it  is  not  compulsory  to  have  a  traineeship 
contract  specifying  the  rights  and  obligations  of  the  parties,  meaning  that  some  trainees  (as 
much  as  25 %  according  to  a  2011  survey  by  the  European  Youth  Forum)  have  no  written 
contractual links to their host organisation. 

Regarding compensation and remuneration, the provision of high-quality training represents a 
cost  for  the  employer.  Nevertheless,  remuneration  constitutes  an  important  quality  element. 
Lack of compensation in a large share of traineeships raises concerns about equity of access, 
as those from a less privileged background may be effectively excluded from them. 

A  further  problem  is  the  expansion  of  successive  traineeships,  whereby  a  young  person 
sometimes has to take up several traineeships before entering the labour market. According to 
the  EYF  survey,  37 %  of  respondents  completed  three  or  more  traineeships.  Low  or  no  pay 
combined with the extension of successive traineeships also raises concerns about employers 
using traineeships as a form of unpaid employment. 

Currently, relatively few young people complete a traineeship in another country. A 2011 
Eurobarometer  survey  showed  that  53 %  of  young  people  in  Europe  are  willing  or  keen  to 
work in another EU Member State.12  

The  main  barriers  identified  to  organising  cross-border  mobility  are  linked  to  the  lack  of 
transparent and easily  accessible  information on the legal and administrative  conditions and 
the  difficulty  of  finding  host  organisations  where  a  good  match  can  be  found  between  the 
trainee’s profile and the needs of the organisation. The lack of information about the quality 
of  traineeships  is  indeed  more  acute  for  cross-border  traineeships.  The  Traineeship  study 
identified large differences in labour market and traineeship regulation across Member States. 
The  lack  of  foreign  trainees’  awareness  of  local  conditions  makes  understanding  and 
enforcing their rights more of a challenge. 

The  interest  shown  by  young  people  in  working  abroad,  and  the  concurrent  low  share  of 
international traineeships suggest that uncertainties about working conditions abroad may be 
playing  an  important  (negative)  role.  If  a  young  person  does  not  know  what  he  or  she  can 
expect  in  terms  of  conditions,  learning,  social  protection,  remuneration  etc.  in  a  foreign 
placement, his/her willingness to participate will be limited. This means a lost opportunity for 
the trainee (and later worker) both in terms of new skills and experience. and constitutes an 
obstacle to mobility within the EU.  

4. 

NEED FOR EU ACTION ON TRAINEESHIPS 

Given  the  situation  of  young  people  in  the  EU  labour  market  and  the  problems  described 
above,  there  is  an  urgent  need  to  improve  the  quality  of  traineeships  by  mobilising  social 

12 

The experience acquired in the Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci programmes demonstrates that  many 
students are keen to take up a traineeship abroad as the demand from potential trainees by far exceeds 
the available budget. 

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partners and by providing guidance to Member States. It is necessary to address high levels of 
youth unemployment and to reduce mismatches in the European labour market by facilitating 
education-to-work transition and lifting obstacles to mobility. This Communication is adopted 
as  part  of  the  Youth  Employment  Package  that  includes  initiatives  on  a  youth  guarantee, 
mobility and apprenticeships13. 

the  2012  European  Semester,  22  Member  States 

In 
received  country-specific 
recommendations specifically aimed at improving the situation of young people in the labour 
market14.  High-quality  traineeships  help  boost  the  employability  of  young  people  and  are 
important stepping stones in the progression to regular employment.  

EU action will support Member States in implementing Europe 2020 employment guideline 
nr  8,  in  particular  'enacting  schemes  to  help  recent  graduates  find  initial  employment  or 
further  education  and  training  opportunities'.  Furthermore,  the  definition  of  internationally 
accepted quality standards can be faster if supranational institutions adopt a coordinating and 
supporting  role.  The  EU  is  best  placed  for  this,  as  there  seems  to  be  little  or  no  movement 
towards  spontaneous  development  of  international  quality  standards.  An  EU-wide  solution 
would also have clear benefits in terms of intra-EU mobility of trainees and would contribute 
to  achieving  a  more  integrated  EU  labour  market.  The  promotion  of  trainees'  geographic 
mobility  within  the  EU  will  help  drive  down  structural  unemployment,  given  that  there  are 
marked  skill  and  demand/supply  mismatches  in  the  European  labour  market.  Developing 
cross-border traineeships is a key tool to achieve this. Young people who consider training in 
another EU Member State should have a clear reference point to enable them to check quality 
criteria  and  avoid  them  getting  discouraged  by  uncertainty  about  administrative  formalities, 
legal  concerns  or  contractual  obligations.  An  EU-level  approach  is  also  a  pre-condition, 
operationally, for extending EURES to apprenticeships and traineeships, as requested by the 
European Council of June 201215. 

5. 

AVENUES FOR EU ACTION 

The Commission has identified possible avenues for EU action, on which it would like to seek 
the  views  of  social  partners,  including  with  regard  to  the  possible  initiation  of  negotiations 
between  them.  All  avenues  for  EU  action  –  which  can  be  combined  –  are  detailed  in  the 
accompanying analytical document.  

Currently,  the  opinions  expressed  by  EU  social  partners  during  the  first-stage  consultation 
differ on the content and the form of such an initiative. 

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COM(2012) 727 of 5 December 2012 
A detailed overview of youth-specific recommendations can be found in Annex II of SWD(2012) 406 
of 5 December 2012. 
EUCO 76/12, 28-29 June 2012. 

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Quality Framework for Traineeships 

5.1. 
The  Commission  announced  in  the  Employment  Package  of  April  201216  a  proposal  for  a 
quality  framework  for  traineeships.  Regarding  the  choice  of  the  quality  elements  to  be 
adopted, the Commission has identified a number of principles that characterise good quality 
traineeships, on the basis of the traineeship study and the replies to the open consultation and 
to the first stage consultation. Although  these  principles seem  to have  general validity, they 
could be adapted to the type of occupation/sector and reflect the size of the host organisation. 
The  compliance  burden  for  SMEs  should  be  taken  into  account,  as  small  and  particularly 
micro-enterprises  may  face  greater  difficulty  in  providing  trainees  with  the  same  level  of 
mentoring  (or  other  support)  as  larger  organisations.  Furthermore,  the  level  of  protection 
offered to trainees should not be greater than that for employees.  

The following elements should be considered for inclusion in the framework: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

16 

Traineeship  agreement:  The  starting  point  for  the  quality  framework  is  the 
conclusion  of  a  traineeship  agreement.  A  good-quality  traineeship  should  be  based 
on a written agreement between the trainee and the host organisation (and possibly 
with  the  training  organisation)  that  covers  aspects  such  as  the  professional  and 
learning  objectives,  the  duration,  the  daily/weekly  working  time  and,  where 
applicable, social security and remuneration/compensation. 

Transparency  of  information: Rights and obligations  of the trainee, the employer 
and,  where  applicable,  the  educational  institution.  Up-to-date  information  on  legal 
and  other  provisions  applicable  at  European  and  national  level  should  be  easily 
available in a comparable format to all parties involved in organising and taking up 
traineeships. The difficulty of accessing reliable and complete information on these 
provisions across all Member States is one of the major obstacles to organising cross-
border traineeships. 

Objectives and content: Traineeships should enable the trainee to acquire skills in 
the workplace complementary to his or her theoretical studies. The main purpose of 
traineeships  is  to  increase  the  employability  of  young  people  and  their  career 
development.  To  increase  the  employability  of  the  trainee,  it  is  important  to  have 
well-defined objectives and a high quality learning content.. 

Guidance  and  recognition:  Educational  content  should  be  ensured  by  assigning  a 
personal supervisor or mentor at the host organisation to each trainee. A supervisor 
should  guide  the  trainee  through  the  assigned  tasks,  monitor  progress,  and  explain 
general work processes and techniques. The supervisor should evaluate the trainee’s 
performance at the end of his/her traineeship, which may take the form of a letter of 
reference. A final evaluation containing aspects such as the duration, the educational 
content, the tasks performed, the knowledge, skills and competences acquired and a 
performance assessment, should ensure the proper recognition of the traineeship. 

Duration: Open-market traineeships should typically not be longer than a specified 
period, for example six months, to ensure that traineeships are not replacing regular 

COM(2012) 173, 18.4.2012. 

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– 

– 

– 

– 

jobs.  Mandatory  post-graduation  professional  training  (e.g.  for  doctors,  lawyers, 
teachers)  should  be  exempted  as  these  traineeships  tend  to  be  highly  regulated.  A 
similar  category  is  the  in-company  ‘traineeship  programmes’  for  recruitment  at 
higher levels of management in order to prepare trainees for a high-level career in the 
enterprise. 

Successive  traineeships:  The  limitation  of  successive  traineeships  with  the  same 
employer should be addressed, e.g. by restricting the possibility of a new traineeship 
agreement  between  the  same  parties  within  a  certain  period  (e.g.  12  months) 
following the expiry of the previous agreement. 

Social  security  provisions:  Social  protection  coverage  should  be  clarified  between 
the  trainee  and  the  host  organisation.  This  includes  health  insurance  and  insurance 
against  accidents  at  the  workplace.  If  the  trainee  is  not  a  student17,  the  host 
organisation  and  the  trainee  need  to  fulfil  insurance  obligations  as  stipulated  by 
labour law in that country. Alternatively, the contractual arrangement could provide 
for insurance schemes to be paid by the host organisation or the trainee. 

be 

may 

Remuneration/cost  compensation:  If  there  is  a  mutual  benefit  for  both  the  host 
organisation and the trainee in terms of knowledge transfer and learning, an unpaid 
on 
traineeship 
remuneration/compensation  should  stipulate  that  the  written  traineeship  agreement 
specifies  clearly  what,  if  any,  compensation  or  remuneration  is  offered,  noting  the 
role  that  remuneration  /  cost  compensation  can  play  in  ensuring  access  to  quality 
traineeships,  and  ultimately  to  certain  professions,  to  (young)  people  from 
disadvantaged backgrounds. 

appropriate. 

Therefore, 

guideline 

a 

Partnership approach: In order to increase the number of high-quality traineeships, 
employers  and  host  organisations  should  step  up  cooperation  with  public 
employment  services  (including  through  the  EURES  network),  other  public 
authorities, educational and training institutions and other employers to better exploit 
synergies,  reduce  costs,  share  best  practices,  improve  the  matching  with  potential 
trainees and so forth. 

Such a quality framework could be limited to open-market traineeships and take the form of a 
recommendation  (based  on  Articles  292,  153  TFEU)  as  announced  in  the  Employment 
Package. 

5.2. 

Quality label for traineeships 

Another  option  would  be  to  issue  a  quality  label  to  host  organisations,  educational 
institutions,  employment  services  and/or  other  relevant  actors  that  comply  with  the  quality 
framework or with a more limited set of quality principles. A quality label for specific sectors 
could also be considered. 

17 

In  most  Member  States,  students  are  provided  with  social  protection by  the  state  or  their  educational 
institution, i.e. they are insured against health risks and accidents while undertaking traineeships during 
their studies. 

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Various solutions are possible. To achieve minimal compliance costs, the quality label could 
be  awarded  to  organisations  committing  to  the  quality  principles  without  requiring  advance 
inspection or screening, on the understanding that duly justified complaints could lead to the 
withdrawal of the label. This would allow the label to be managed by a small external office 
or  a  stakeholder  organisation.  A  quality  label  would  be  a  non-regulatory  solution  to  quality 
issues. However, the risk of this approach is that only a few organisations may apply for the 
label, particularly as at current demand for traineeships outstrips supply. Furthermore, many 
of those that apply are likely to be those that already offer high-quality traineeships, therefore 
it would not address the problem fully. 

5.3. 

Creation of an information website 

A  further  option  is  to  set  up  a  website  with  a  traineeship  panorama  (containing  regularly 
updated information on traineeship conditions and the legal framework in each Member State 
–  possibly  in  the  context  of  the  EURES  portal).  A  properly  designed,  user-friendly  website 
would  allow  easier  access  to  information  on  national  legislation  of  traineeships  and  on  the 
availability  of  different  types  of  traineeships  in  Member  States.  This  would  reduce  search 
costs for trainees, could improve matching and could also have a positive effect on increasing 
the availability of candidates for cross-border traineeships. On the other hand, it could have a 
limited impact on traineeship quality. The website would address the problem of the lack of 
general  information  on  standards,  but  it  would  not  be  able  to  systematically  provide 
information on the quality of specific traineeship positions on offer, it would be dependent on 
a  module  where  trainees  or  ex-trainees  could  leave  subjective  feedback  about  specific 
traineeship positions.  

5.4. 

Impact of options 

All avenues for EU action will have an impact, as indicated in the accompanying analytical 
document. The Commission would appreciate the social partners’ views on the impact of the 
proposed options. 

6. 

NEXT STEPS 

A quality framework could be instrumental in improving the quality of traineeships in the EU. 
It  would  encourage  host  organisations  to  offer  more  traineeships  providing  a  high  quality 
learning content, decent working conditions and representing real stepping stones to enter the 
labour market.  

The Commission will take into account the results of this consultation in its further work to 
improve  the  quality  of  traineeships.  In  particular,  it  may  suspend  such  work  if  the  social 
partners  decide  to  negotiate  between  themselves  on  matters  with  a  sufficiently  wide  scope. 
Otherwise, it will proceed to adopt an EU initiative on a quality framework for traineeships, 
supported by an impact assessment. 

EN 

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   EN 

7. 

QUESTIONS TO THE SOCIAL PARTNERS 

The Commission therefore seeks the views of the social partners on the following questions, 
and on their assessment of the impact of the preferred option: 

1. 

Do you consider that the option set out in section 5.1 

– 

– 

could provide an acceptable framework for addressing the concerns expressed 
in your replies to the first stage consultation? 

should  be  limited  to  open-market  traineeships,  or  should  it  cover  all  types  of 
traineeships? 

What are your views on the other options set out in sections 5.2 and 5.3? 

Are  the  EU  social  partners,  at  cross-industry  or  sectoral  level,  willing  to  enter  into 
negotiations on the basis of the elements set out in section 5.1 of this communication 
with  a  view  to  concluding  an  agreement  on  a  quality  framework  for  traineeships 
under Article 155 TFEU? 

2. 

3. 

EN 

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   EN