Good training enables trainees to see the bigger picture. "It is really worthwhile for the young people and for the companies – and in the final analysis for all of us," declared acting Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Katarina Barley. By 2020, 10 per cent of all trainees are to undertake part of their training in another country.

Students today consider it the norm to spend time in another country, but only 4.5 per cent of German trainees do likewise. Katarina Barley and the EU Commissioner for Social Affairs Marianne Thyssen have been promoting the new ErasmusPro programme for trainees.

Longer placements abroad for 50,000 trainees

"All of Europe respects Germany’s dual vocational training system," said Marianne Thyssen. It lays the foundations that give young people a good start in working life and enable them to work successfully for a long time. Two out of three trainees find a job immediately, on completion of their training.

To learn foreign languages properly, and to acquire cultural and professional skills in another country, it is important to spend time in that country. Where trainees go abroad at all, they currently tend to undertake at most a four-week internship in another country. That is why the European Commission is now encouraging them to spend between 3 and 12 months during their training in another country, under the ErasmusPro programme.

It must now be agreed EU-wide how training undertaken in another country can be recognised and counted as part of the training course in the trainees’ home country, explained Marianne Thyssen. Technical and vocational education and training systems (TVET) vary widely from one member state to another.

Training gives young people prospects

Youth unemployment is still too high in many European states. "Four months after finishing school at the latest young people must have the offer of a good traineeship," declared Katarina Barley. That is laid down in the EU’s Youth Guarantee.

To encourage more young people to become more mobile, Germany and France dedicated the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty to mobility among trainees. The acting Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs pointed out that young people have responded very positively. More than 17,000 young Europeans, for instance, have applied for assistance under the MobiPro-EU programme since it was first launched.

The "Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation" has gone down in history as the "Elysée Treaty". In 1963 the French President Charles de Gaulle and the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signed the agreement on friendship and political cooperation. To encourage greater mobility among young people, Germany and France have dedicated the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty to encouraging trainees to be more mobile. The Treaty laid the foundation for the Franco-German youth office, which was established the same year. Today 180 academic exchange programmes, more than 2,000 town twinning arrangements and many other initiatives demonstrate just how close the German and French people have become.

During a visit to the company Vattenfall Wärme, Commissioner Marianne Thyssen talked to the trainees about their wishes and ideas regarding longer placements in another country.

How does a placement abroad work?

The opportunity to spend time abroad as part of a training course is to be independent of whether a young person is undertaking a school-based or a dual vocational training course. During their placement abroad trainees are still officially trainees of their company in Germany. That company will also continue to pay the trainees. School-based training courses often involve several internships or placements in industry anyway; trainees can then simply undertake one of them in another country. The ErasmusPlus programme can provide subsidies to help cover the costs of travel and accommodation.

It is important to set up the placement abroad as early as possible. Essentially trainees can spend up to one quarter of their total traineeship in another country; they may spend this period abroad even up to 12 months after completing their training.

How can trainees find an Erasmus placement?

Trainees cannot apply directly for an Erasmus grant. They must first contact the company with which they are training, the vocational school or their local chamber of skilled crafts or chamber of commerce. These bodies often organise training projects with their own partners in other countries. Trainees can also apply for pool projects, in which training facilities offer places for a larger group of young people. All trainees and vocational school students in Germany can use this system to apply for a placement abroad and an ErasmusPlus grants.

Advantages when trainees come to look for a job

Trainees who can demonstrate that they have coped in another country have an advantage on the job market. Europe provides financial support for young people on this international path. In 2015 about 280 million euros was spent on vocational training mobility projects in Europe; 33 million euros were spent in Germany.

In October 2017 the European Commission announced that funds for Erasmus are likely to be topped up by more than 200 million euros in 2018. ErasmusPlus will thus be able to offer even greater opportunities for individuals and organisations inside Europe and even further afield. To date some 650,000 trainees and fully qualified TVET graduates have been granted financial support under ErasmusPlus to enable them to spend time abroad.