Pay Rise Campaign – Briefing paper
Young people in traineeships
Traineeships are supposed to ease the path from education to work, and should have a strong training or learning element. In reality, they are often used to supply cheap, or even unpaid, labour. Some 61% of university graduates across Europe have undertaken at least one traineeship. Some do provide useful training, and some are combined with study. However, only 20% pay enough to cover basic living costs, sinking to 12% in Spain, and only 27% lead to an offer of employment. Traineeships too often amount to an unpaid probationary period which ends in nothing because the trainee is replaced with another trainee.
Background on traineeships
A specific form of precarious work for young people is the misuse of traineeships – either because they are used as cheap labour (as a substitute for a worker on a regular contract) or not paid.
A European Commission study in 2013, based on interviews with 12,921 young people, found that 46% had undertaken at least one traineeship, as had 61% of graduates.
They can be short, with training, but they often amount to an unpaid, or badly paid trial period. The number of young people taking a traineeship after completing their studies varies between countries, but comprised a majority in Spain, Slovenia and Croatia.
Only 27% move into a job, while 23% are offered another traineeship. Only 40% are paid, and of those only 46% are paid enough to cover basic living costs. In Spain, only 29% among the 42% who received payment said it was enough to live on. In 10 EU countries, trainees said their pay did not cover their living expenses: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Croatia.
Percentage of those interviewed in 2013 who had undertaken a traineeship
| At least one traineeship | At least one after completing studies | |
| EU27 | 46 | 33 |
| Belgium | 64 | 23 |
| Bulgaria | 36 | 49 |
| Czech Republic | 9 | 25 |
| Denmark | 38 | 15 |
| Germany | 74 | 38 |
| Estonia | 52 | 11 |
| Ireland | 20 | 53 |
| Greece | 28 | 42 |
| Spain | 35 | 67 |
| France | 73 | 19 |
| Italy | 31 | 42 |
| Cyprus | 79 | 17 |
| Latvia | 15 | 21 |
| Lithuania | 8 | 46 |
| Luxembourg | 65 | 21 |
| Hungary | 45 | 22 |
| Malta | 12 | 45 |
| Netherlands | 79 | 12 |
| Austria | 53 | 39 |
| Poland | 24 | 36 |
| Portugal | 38 | 56 |
| Romania | 10 | 27 |
| Slovenia | 29 | 68 |
| Slovakia | 8 | 38 |
| Finland | 66 | 17 |
| Sweden | 30 | 27 |
| United Kingdom | 56 | 28 |
| Croatia | 22 | 60 |
Flash Eurobarometer 378,
https://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/dataset/S1091_378
Percentage of those interviewed in 2013 who had undertaken a traineeship with compensation
| Received compensation | Of which, sufficient for basic living costs | |
| EU27 | 40 | 46 |
| Belgium | 19 | 38 |
| Bulgaria | 42 | 57 |
| Czech Republic | 61 | 70 |
| Denmark | 31 | 69 |
| Germany | 38 | 39 |
| Estonia | 50 | 62 |
| Ireland | 65 | 75 |
| Greece | 57 | 38 |
| Spain | 42 | 29 |
| France | 39 | 42 |
| Italy | 30 | 53 |
| Cyprus | 29 | 51 |
| Latvia | 61 | 67 |
| Lithuania | 67 | 62 |
| Luxembourg | 44 | 44 |
| Hungary | 43 | 45 |
| Malta | 54 | 67 |
| Netherlands | 57 | 32 |
| Austria | 69 | 64 |
| Poland | 70 | 30 |
| Portugal | 36 | 58 |
| Romania | 55 | 56 |
| Slovenia | 81 | 69 |
| Slovakia | 51 | 64 |
| Finland | 46 | 70 |
| Sweden | 46 | 61 |
| United Kingdom | 29 | 68 |
| Croatia | 48 | 48 |
Flash Eurobarometer 378,
https://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/dataset/S1091_378
Link to video: “Internships can either be fair or free, not both! #OurPayRise”: https://youtu.be/srvD6iGSOlE
