The Blue Book Traineeships: FAQ

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By Erik Schmidt-Bergemann, 6 minutes

Every year thousands of people decide to apply for one of the many different EU traineeships. The biggest traineeship program is the blue book program. Twice a year about 650 people have the opportunity to gain work experience at the Commission for five months. This blog post will give you all the information you need about the blue book traineeships. 

What is a blue book traineeship?

Even though most of us have probably heard about the bluebook traineeship already, I will briefly summarize what it is. The blue book traineeship is one of many traineeships that the EU offers every year and specifically refers to the program at the European Commission. Thus, if you get accepted for the blue book traineeship, you will work for one of the many Directorate Generals of the Commission. The blue book traineeship is one of the biggest traineeship programs at the EU and trainees will have the unique opportunity to work for one of the most important institutions and the biggest EU employer.

The requirements and procedure

Let's move on and discuss the requirements. If you want to apply for the blue book traineeship, you need to fulfil specific criteria: 

1. Bachelor's Degree or equivalent (IMPORTANT: You need to have your diploma when you are applying)

2. You did not work for the EU for more than six weeks before applying (no previous work experience/internships or traineeships at EU institutions that exceed 6 weeks) 

3. Language knowledge: 

1. Administrative role: Knowledge of two EU languages one of which must be French, English or German at a C1/2 level

2. Translator role: You must be able to translate into your target language from two different EU languages (one has to be German, English or French) 

As you can see, language knowledge is very important. Any European language that you can speak (even if it is not at a C level) will boost your application. Further, if you excel during University and if you have previous work experience (e.g., a relevant internship) you will have better chances. The Commission is also looking for people that lived abroad (e.g., Erasmus, work, volunteering) and people that studied rare subjects at University (e.g., Engineering). 

If you fulfil all the above-mentioned criteria, you are eligible to apply for the traineeship program. To apply, you need to register on the online platform that is being used for the application procedure. There you will be asked to fill in an application form with all the necessary information such as your nationality or educational background. 

In a second step, there will be a pre-selection and it will be checked whether you are eligible. Approximately 2.000 people are pre-selected and the DGs will choose their trainees from these people. The 2.000 pre-selected candidates are picked upon the scores that they receive. Commission employees will review all the applications and assign points for language knowledge, education and work experience among others. The more points you have, the higher are your chances that you will get one of the few trainee spots. If you make it to the pre-selected list, DGs will start looking through all the applicants and will choose a number of people from that list. If several DGs want to offer a traineeship to the same person, the DG that ranked higher on the applicant’s choices will be able to offer a traineeship. Some DGs may decide to approach you for an interview. If a DG, service or agency selected you as one of their trainees, you will receive a placement offer, which you can accept or reject. Yet, if you reject the offer you will have to wait until the next application session, as you are not getting more than one offer in one session. 

How does a traineeship look like?

For every session, about 650 people are taken in as trainees. If you are one of these lucky people, you might ask yourself what the traineeship entails. You will work at the Commission for five months (no extension) and you will work for 40 hours a week. As a trainee, you can take two days of leave every month. 

Additionally, the traineeship is paid. Currently, trainees are receiving a monthly allowance of €1,229.32 per month. The allowance is subject to change. Thus, the amount might be higher/lower when you are doing your traineeship. If you would like to know more about the experience of the trainees, we recommend reading some of the many testimonials that are uploaded here.

Extra information and the Junior Professional Programme

Now that you know what the blue book traineeship is all about, you might be asking yourself when you can apply for the next intake. The next application period will start on the 15th of July and will run until the 31st of August. If you get a spot as a trainee you would work for the Commission between March and July in 2022.

However, once your traineeship is over, you will not be able to continue working for the Commission. In some countries, it is common practice to get a job offer after a successful spell as a trainee or intern, but that is not the case for the EU institutions (unless you are selected for the Junior Professional Program). If you want to continue your work at the institutions, you will have to follow the official application procedures. 

However, blue book trainees who work for the Commission directly (and not for any executive agencies etc) are eligible to apply for the Junior Professional Program. About 50 people are chosen twice a year to participate in this program. Instead of following the normal traineeship track, a Junior Professional will work for the Commission for two years in different DGs and receive training to improve key skills. Furthermore, once the Junior Professional Program is over after two years, you have the opportunity to enter the internal competition and have the chance to receive an entry-level job as an EU official. 

Last, if you want to boost your chances of securing an EU traineeship, you can apply for several traineeships at different EU institutions or agencies. For example, if you are interested in defence policy, you could apply for the bluebook traineeship at the Commission and the traineeship program at the European Defence Agency. 

If you still have any remaining questions, you can check out the FAQ at the Commission website. 

Tips and Tricks

1. Every language matters! You might think that an A1 or 2 certificate is unnecessary but you will receive extra points for it.

2. Go abroad before applying, most of us are already studying abroad but if you are not you should consider doing an Erasmus for example, you will receive extra points.

3. Work on your CV. Try to get that job experience or do that volunteering project you always wanted to do. It will definitely help with your application. 

4. Apply early. If you apply early you will have plenty of time to contact the Commission if you have any questions. Further, you will avoid the risk of sending your application too late.