COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework Traineeships
Date: 2023-01-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: continuing education, cooperation in the field of education, first job, integration into employment, job access, professional qualifications, traineeship, young person, youth employment

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 10.1.2023  SWD(2023) 10 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION                 of the Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework Traineeships {SWD(2023) 9 final}  
 
 
Introduction 

This  report  presents  the  findings  of  the  Commission’s  evaluation  of  the  Council 
Recommendation of 10 March 2014 on a Quality Framework for Traineeships (2014/C 88/01) 
(hereinafter QFT). It assesses the extent to which the QFT is effective, efficient and coherent, 
provides EU added value and remains relevant to tackle present needs, bearing in mind that a 
Council Recommendation is of a non-binding nature.  

The QFT aims at helping young people transition from education, unemployment or inactivity 
into  the  labour  market  through  quality  traineeships  that  enhance  their  skills,  allow  them  to 
gain  work  experience  and  thereby  increase  their  employability.  It  also  seeks  to  increase  the 
transparency of the traineeship market, to increase awareness of rights and obligations among 
trainees  and  traineeship  providers,  to  ensure  more  coherent  regulatory  approaches  across 
Member  States  and  to  facilitate  cross-border  traineeships.  To  achieve  these  objectives,  the 
QFT  sets  out  21  quality  principles1  for  traineeships.  The  QFT  applies  to  Active  Labour 
Market  Policy  (ALMP)  traineeships  as  well  as  traineeships  offered  in  the  open  market 
(OMTs).  It  does  not  cover  work  experience  placements  that  are  part  of  curricula  of  formal 
education or vocational education and training. Traineeships of which the content is regulated 
under  national  law  and  whose  completion  is  a  mandatory  requirement  to  access  a  specific 
profession (medicine, architecture, etc.) are also not covered by the QFT.  

Different  research  activities  carried  out  as  part  of  the  study  supporting  the  evaluation2  (i.e. 
targeted  consultations,  public  consultation,  mapping  and  case  studies)  underpin  the 
assessment.  A key limitation of the evaluation concerns the lack of systematic data collection 
on traineeships, in particular on OMTs, as well as the lack of quantitative data on costs and 
benefits. Another challenge relates to isolating the impact of the QFT on youth employment 
from the impact of traineeships in general.  

Key findings 

While the research conducted in support of this evaluation did not allow to establish a causal 
relation  between  the  QFT  (a  non-binding  instrument),  the  extent  of  its  integration  in  the 
national  legislation  or  frameworks  and  the  quality  of  traineeships,  some  indications  of 
possible  positive  impacts  of  the  QFT  on  the  quality  of  traineeships  and  youth  employment 
were found.    

Traineeships  continue  to  be  an  important  pathway  for  young  people  to  enter  the  labour 
market. Quality traineeships, which reflect the principles of the QFT, contribute to increasing 
young  people’s  employability  and  help  employers  to  attract,  train  and  retain  young  talent. 
This is particularly relevant in the context of the pronounced skills mismatches and skills gaps 
that exist currently on the labour market. 

1 The first point in the QFT is not considered a quality principle on  its own, but an overall recommendation to 

Member States to implement the (21) quality principles that follow thereafter 

2 Study supporting the evaluation of the Quality Framework for Traineeships (2023) 

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In terms of effectiveness, the QFT principles which are most likely to have a positive impact 
on  labour  market  integration  of  young  people  are  the  definition  of  learning  and  educational 
objectives  and  the  written  agreement  although  actual  progress  in  the  take-up  of  its  quality 
principles  in  national  legislation  has  been  moderate.  Since  2014,  14  Member  States 
introduced  changes  (either  on  OMTs  or  ALMP  traineeships  or  both)  integrating  quality 
principles  of  the  QFT  in  their  legislative  or  policy  frameworks.  Such  changes  were  more 
prevalent  in  national  legislation  governing  ALMP  traineeships  (identified  in  12  Member 
States), than OMTs (identified in five Member States). Furthermore, whilst the prevalence of 
specific legal provisions as well as their conformity with the principles of the QFT were found 
to  be  high  for  ALMP  traineeships,  they  are  more  limited  for  OMTs.  Overall,  a  slight 
improvement  in  terms  of  conformity  can  be  observed  for  OMTs  with  four  Member  States 
fully/mostly aligned in  2016 versus  seven Member States in  2021. A larger improvement is 
observed for ALMP traineeships, with 18 Member States fully/mostly in conformity in 2021 
versus 15 in 2016. As regards the actual application of the QFT on the ground, as well as their 
monitoring  and  enforcement,  there  is  in  general  room  for  improvement.  As  for  the  QFT 
facilitating cross-border mobility of trainees in the EU, there are indications that the number 
of cross-border traineeships has increased, but young people still face difficulties participating 
in  them  due  to  a  lack  of  financial  means  and  the  unavailability  of  relevant  practical 
information. The use of EURES as a source of information was found to be limited. The QFT 
provided added value as a reference point at EU level for Member States’ regulatory action 
on the quality of traineeships, in particular in Member States with less developed traineeship 
systems, where it helped to foster policy and legislative changes at national level.  

As  for  efficiency,  though  the  evaluation  lacked  quantitative  evidence  on  costs  and  benefits, 
stakeholders generally perceived the cost related to implementing the QFT as proportionate to 
the  benefits.  Benefits  for  employers  include  a  better  understanding  of  the  determinants  of 
traineeship quality, reputational advantages, an increased attractiveness to young talent, and a 
more  affordable  way  to  invest  in  potential  future  workers.  However,  the  implementation  of 
the QFT can be less cost effective for small and micro enterprises than for larger firms, as for 
those  enterprises  costs  (in  view  of  limited  human  and  financial  resources)  may  be  higher 
relative to benefits. Financial incentives can help increase the benefits to traineeship providers 
compared to the costs involved. Benefits of the QFT for trainees include improved working 
conditions,  as  well  as  better  training  and  learning  content,  which  increase  their  chances  of 
entering stable employment. 

The  QFT  was  found  to  be  coherent  with  other  EU  level  initiatives,  strategies,  programmes 
and  funding  instruments.  At  national  and  regional  level,  a  higher  level  of  coherence  was 
found  with  measures  on  ALMP  traineeships  than  with  those  on  OMTs.  Despite  the  many 
similarities  in  quality  principles,  the  European  framework  for  quality  and  effective 
apprenticeships (EFQEA)3 was perceived as leading to a greater involvement of stakeholders 
(e.g. through dedicated networks). The EFQEA was also viewed as having a higher and more 

3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32018H0502%2801%29 

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specific  quality  ambition  as  well  as  benefits  due  to  stronger  language  used  in  the  EFQEA 
recommendation  and  apprenticeships  often  being  more  regulated  on  a  tripartite  basis  in 
Member States.  

Though  some  respondents  (in  particular  employers)  considered  that  the  QFT  should  remain 
"as  is"  as  they  deem  the  QFT  sufficiently  relevant  in  addressing  trainees'  needs,  various 
stakeholders  considered  that  the  relevance  of  the  QFT  could  be  further  strengthened,  in 
particular when it comes to remuneration and social protection for trainees, and outreach to as 
well as access for vulnerable groups. In addition, some stakeholders consider there is a need 
for  the  QFT  to  address  the  challenges  of  the  increased  practice  of  telework  as  well  as 
guidance  and  mentorship  in  that  context.  Furthermore,  some  stakeholders  suggest  adding 
traineeships that are part of formal education and training to the scope of the QFT. Also, some 
stakeholders  consider  that  to  ease  the  transition  of  a  young  trainee  to  a  stable  job,  the  QFT 
could place more emphasis on post-placement support. As for the non-binding nature of the 
QFT, views diverge on whether this is appropriate for fully reaching the QFT objectives with 
some  (notably  youth  organisations  and  trade  unions)  arguing  for  a  binding  instrument  to 
increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  QFT,  whilst  others  (notably  employers  and  national 
authorities) arguing that given the diversity of national situations and legal limitations at  the 
EU level, the QFT’s non-binding nature offers an adequate and flexible reference framework 
for national regulations.  

Lessons learned 

Quality  traineeships,  in  line  with  the  principles  of  the  QFT,  increase  young  people's 
employability. The QFT principles are viewed as still relevant, but the evaluation also brought 
to light certain considerations to be made for reinforcing it. The collection of comparable data 
on  the  prevalence,  quality  and  nature  of  traineeships  across  Member  States  needs  to  be 
significantly strengthened to identify improvements and remaining challenges and to allow for 
comparison across the EU.  Drawing inspiration from the EFQEA, the implementation of the 
QFT  could  benefit  from  a  stronger  involvement  of  stakeholders  (e.g.  through  dedicated 
networks) and from more emphasis on ensuring a higher degree of national legislation in line 
with QFT principles on OMTs. Stronger monitoring and enforcement in conjunction with an 
increased awareness amongst various key stakeholders could improve the implementation and 
effectiveness  on  the  ground.  Employers  could  be  better  assisted  in  accessing  financial 
support by providing practical guidance as well as by linking such financial incentives to the 
application of the QFT quality principles. There is also a need to provide more concrete and 
practical information to young people on cross-border traineeships.  

The coherence of the QFT with national policies on employment, education and training and 
social  policies  could  be  further  improved  through  strengthened  coordination  across  these 
policy  areas.  There  is  also  a  need  to  reflect  on  the  scope  of  the  QFT,  in  particular  on 
extending  it  to  traineeships  which  are  part  of  curricula  of  formal  education  or  vocational 
education and training.  

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It should be assessed whether the relevance of the QFT could be reinforced by adding quality 
elements on fair remuneration and social protection as well as provisions on telework/hybrid 
traineeships,  by  better  addressing  the  needs  of  vulnerable  groups,  and  through  strengthened 
support  to  trainees  during  and  after  the  traineeship  (e.g.  through  mentorship  and  post-
placement support).  

Any  revision  of  the  scope  or  the  content  of  the  QFT  has  to  duly  take  into  account  the 
possibilities  and  the  limitations,  including  the  principle  of  subsidiarity,  of  the  different 
instruments available at EU level. In addition, changes would need to be carefully assessed in 
the light of potential additional benefits and costs for stakeholders, in particular for small and 
micro enterprises.  

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