Traineeships at the EU agencies
source: Michael Kaeding from EIPA.
by Erik Schmidt-Bergemann, 6,5 minutes
Many young graduates dream of getting a traineeship at one of the big institutions in Brussels such as Nato, the European Commission, the Council, or the European Parliament. However, little known to the general public, there are plenty of more opportunities to do a traineeship for EU agencies. Next to the big institutions, the EU has 48 decentralised agencies. These agencies are spread all over the European Union, as the map below shows, and cover different areas such as the environment or social policy. But how is that relevant to recent graduates?
Before the article can delve deeper into traineeship opportunities at Agencies, it is important to quickly summarize what Agencies actually are. Agencies are independent and decentralised bodies that have a very specific area of interest. For instance, there is an Agency on Food Safety and an Agency on the Space Program. Thus, Agencies are very specialised and offer a great opportunity for young graduates who are interested in a topic that is covered by one of the Agencies.
All of the European agencies offer various traineeship programs just like the big EU institutions do. These traineeship programs are obviously on a much smaller scale than for example the Blue Book traineeship at the Commission, but they quite often run for more than 5 months. Thus, these traineeships are a perfect start to your professional life if you are planning to work in a very specific area that is covered by one of the agencies.
REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
Before the details of the traineeships are covered, it is important to talk about the requirements that a recent graduate should fulfil to be eligible for a traineeship. The requirements for the traineeships are mostly quite similar between the agencies. However, there are some small exceptions. If you want to apply for a traineeship, you need to fulfil the following criteria:
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent
No previous work experience at an EU institution
You need to know at least two EU languages at a very high level, English is often required to be one of them at a C1 level
Be an EU citizen or a citizen of an EU candidate country
These are the main requirements that all of the agencies have in common. However, some of the agencies might have exceptions to the criteria outlined above or have additional criteria that applicants need to fulfil. Especially the citizenship requirements are quite different between the Agencies. These are listed below.
Translation Center for the Bodies of the EU (Luxembourg) - Instead of a diploma, the centre only requires four completed semesters in a field of interest to the centre.
European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (Ljubljana) - Citizens from EU candidate countries are not considered. However, citizens from Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway are considered in addition to EU citizens.
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (Cologne) - Instead of citizens of candidate countries, this agency accepts citizens of Liechtenstein, Iceland, Switzerland and Norway. Additionally, citizens of third countries can be considered in certain circumstances.
European Banking Authority (Paris) - Citizens from countries in the European Economic Area are considered.
European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Stockholm) - Citizens from EU candidate countries are not considered. However, citizens from Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway are considered in addition to EU citizens.
European Chemicals Agency (Helsinki) - Additionally, citizens from countries in the European Economic Area and third-country citizens are considered.
European Defence Agency (Brussels) - Trainees must be citizens of participating countries (which are all EU countries except Denmark). Applicants also need a Personnel Security Clearance Certificate.
European Food Safety Authority (Parma) - Additionally, citizens from countries in the European Economic Area, EFTA and third-country citizens are considered.
European Medicines Agency (Amsterdam) - Citizens from EU candidate countries are not considered. However, citizens from Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway are considered in addition to EU citizens.
European Maritime Safety Agency (Lisbon) - Citizens from EU candidate countries are not considered. However, citizens from Liechtenstein, Iceland, Switzerland and Norway are considered in addition to EU citizens. Additionally, citizens of third countries can be considered in certain circumstances.
European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (Athens) - Citizens from EU candidate countries are not considered. However, citizens from EFTA countries are considered in addition to EU citizens.
European Union Agency for Railways (Valenciennes) - This agency also has a program for University students who need to complete a traineeship/internship as part of their program.
European Securities and Markets Authority (Paris) - Citizens from EU candidate countries are not considered. However, citizens from Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway are considered in addition to EU citizens. This agency also has a program for University students who need to complete a traineeship/internship as part of their program.
European Training Foundation (Torino) - Citizens of partner countries of the ETF are also eligible to apply for traineeships.
European Union Intellectual Property Office (Alicante) - Non-EU citizens are in general considered to be eligible.
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin) - Only EU citizens are considered.
European Union Agency for the Space Program (Prague) - This agency also has a program for University students who need to complete a traineeship/internship as part of their program.
Frontex (Warsaw) - Frontex traineeships are conducted through the Blue Book traineeship scheme.
European Union Satellite Center (Torrejon de Ardoz) - Only EU citizens are considered.
WHAT DOES A TRAINEESHIP LOOK LIKE?
The experiences of trainees are quite different depending on what agency they are working for. In terms of length, most traineeships are at least 6 months long with some offering longer periods of 9 or 12 months. Even though the length of the traineeships is different, there are similarities in the day-to-day work. Generally speaking, a trainee will work for 40 hours a week and will have 2 days of leave per month. This is similar to the Blue Book and Schuman traineeship. Many Agencies also have the possibility of doing a part-time traineeship.
During the workweek, trainees are engaged in the day-to-day tasks of the agencies and get hands-on experience. The tasks that you do as a trainee depend on the Agency that you are working for and the specific unit within the Agency. For example, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFUND) has specific research traineeships in its headquarters in Dublin. There you would for example conduct research on “Employment & labour market” or “Working conditions & sustainable work”. However, EUROFUND also offers traineeships in its Brussels Liaison Office or its Human Resources department. This means that most agencies also have job opportunities for people that are not necessarily experts in the area of work that the Agency is doing on a day-to-day basis.
Traineeships at Agencies are also paid, however, the amount of remuneration varies considerably. This varies from 750€ at the European Institute for Gender Equality to 1.500€ at the European Union Agency for Railways. The remuneration mainly depends on budgetary constraints and the living costs of the city/country that the Agency is based in.
If you are also interested in applying for the Blue Book traineeship or if you want some additional tips & tricks for your agency applications, check out our article about the Blue Book traineeship here and the traineeships at the European Parliament here. The tips & tricks at the end of the article are applicable for applying at agencies as well and will increase your chances of getting your dream traineeship. Furthermore, if you would like additional information on each agency, the application procedure, duration and other aspects of EU traineeships, this website from our partner EPSO is a good starting point.
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