Recommendations give an overarching framework as to how member states should ensure that national legislations respect the principles set out in the document, and remind of the Youth Guarantee adopted in 2013, which guarantees that all young people up to the age of 25 “receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education”. 

The Quality Framework should increase transparency of the traineeship conditions such as the skills acquired and mentoring, working hours, remuneration etc. in order to prevent anything that might lead to unfair treatment of trainees. One of the aims of the Framework is also to facilitate the transition from education to work and increase employability of young people, who are dealing with unemployment in record numbers. 

Referring to the Annual Growth Survey 2014, facilitating the transition from school to work is considered to be essential for tackling youth unemployment, notably by means of increasing the availability of good quality traineeships or apprenticeships.   

Council recommendation