Erasmus+ Traineeship after Graduation

The Erasmus+ programme offers grants not only for student mobilities during studies but also for traineeship mobilities shortly after graduation. The Flemish universities and universities of applied sciences (and arts) have jointly formed a consortium to offer Erasmus+ grants for traineeships after graduation to graduate, bachelor’s or master’s degree students as well as PhD students. This consortium is called the Flanders Traineeship Platform and is managed by the Flemish Higher Education Council (VLUHR).

Candidate profile

Recent graduates from all study fields may apply for this scholarship, provided that they have completed a graduate, bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree. Recent graduates of a postgraduate program are therefore not eligible.

Candidates must be registered before their graduation date. The traineeship must be completed within one year (12 months) of graduation. The start date must take place within that year.

The following higher education institutions are part of the ‘Flanders Traineeship Platform’ consortium:

Artesis Plantijn University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Artevelde University of Applied Sciences, Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts, HOGENT University of Applied Sciences, PXL University of Applied Sciences and Arts, VIVES University of Applied Sciences, Howest University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and Arts, LUCA School of Arts, Odisee University of Applied Sciences, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, University of Antwerp, KU Leuven, Ghent University, Hasselt University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, The Antwerp Maritime Academey (since 1 Sept. 2021), UCLL University of Applied Sciences (since 1 Sept. 2021)

Important: Your higher education institution’s internal process must also be taken into account, so please contact the international office at your higher education institution as well.

Destination

Students must find an traineeship themselves. This can be in one of the Erasmus+ programme countries or in one of the partner countries. The following platforms can help in finding a placement company:

*All public and private organisations that are active on the labour market or in the domain of diplomacy, education, training and youth work are eligible. EU institutions and organisations that administer European programmes, including Erasmus+ National Agencies, are not eligible.

The countries that qualify for Erasmus+ are:

  • 27 EU Member States and their Overseas Territories
  • the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
  • Candidate Countries: North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey
  • Third countries not associated to the Programme.

Click here for an overview of all eligible countries.

Scholarship amount

The scholarship amount depends on the destination country. For the program countries, there are three grant categories for three country groups. There is a fourth grant category for the partner countries.

Destination*

Category 1**

(per month)

Category 2

(per month)

Group 1

Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Luxembourg, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands, Switzerland, United Kingdom**

€ 819,00

€ 569,00

Group 2

Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City

€ 769,00

€ 519,00

Group 3

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia

€ 719,00

€ 469,00

Group 4

Third countries not associated to the Programme (exc. region 13 and 14)***

€ 950,00

€ 700,00

The amounts mentioned above are granted for each full month of the traineeship period, with the remaining days paid pro rata.
*Below 500 km, participant will, as a general rule, travel with low-emissions means of transport.
**Students from underrepresented groups will receive the higher monthly amount listed above.
***Recent graduates who go to partner countries, with the exception of partner countries from regions 13 and 14, are entitled to an additional travel allowance. This travel allowance is calculated on the basis of seven different distance bands: 10-99km: € 23 | 100-499km: € 180 (or € 210 for green travel) | 500-1999km: € 275 (or € 320 for green travel) | 2000-2999km: € 360 (or € 410 for green travel) | 3000-3999km: € 530 (or € 610 for green travel) | 4000-7999km: € 820 | 8000km and more: € 1.500

Duration

The duration of the traineeship is minimum 2 and maximum 12 months.

The traineeship grant is for a maximum of 6 months.

The scholarship will only be granted for a period up until 12 months after the date of graduation (i.e. publication of final results).

Important: per study cycle (bachelor’s/master’s/PhD), you may spend a maximum of 12 months on mobility through Erasmus. The number of months you spent on Erasmus mobility (study or traineeship) during the study cycle from which you most recently graduated will be deducted from the maximum of 12 months. For an traineeship after graduation, you can only receive Erasmus funding for the number of months that remains from this 12-month period.

Application and selection procedure

STEP 1:
To participate in the Erasmus+ programme, students must register before graduation*, i.e. before the date that your scores are officially announced. Registration is not possible after graduation.

The specific traineeship proposal may be completed after graduation. Registration is not a binding commitment and can be cancelled afterwards. So, if you are interested in the program, be sure to register even if you do not yet have a traineeship company. That way, you still have the possibility of receiving a grant.

STEP 2:
Students must search for an traineeship in an organisation themselves. When a placement has been found, the grant candidate completes the necessary details in Placement-Online. A fully signed learning agreement is uploaded in the online file.

STEP 3:
NEW: From 1 June 2024, it will be possible to receive conditional approval. The budget for your traineeship grant will then be conditionally reserved. The conditional approval is done through the first-come, first-served principle, until exhaustion of the maximum budget that can be allocated for the conditional approval.

For the first-come, first-served principle, the upload date of a fully signed learning agreement is taken into account. For conditional approval, the anticipated graduation date mentioned in the master data of the file on Placement-Online is used.

STEP 4:
1 - After conditional approval, the grant is officially awarded when the student graduates and the following conditions are met:

  • The student has graduated and has uploaded a diploma or provisional certificate stating the graduation date.
  • The start date of the traineeship, mentioned on the initially submitted Learning Agreement, comes after the official graduation date.
  • The end date of the traineeship, mentioned on the initially submitted Learning Agreement, falls within the year after graduation.

The reserved grant budget will be released again if:

  • the start date of the traineeship mentioned on the initially submitted Learning Agreement has passed and no diploma has been uploaded;
  • the initially submitted Learning Agreement has to be adapted in order to qualify for the Erasmus+ grant (e.g. graduation date later than expected which makes it necessary to adapt the starting date of the traineeship).

2 - If no conditional approval was given prior to graduation, the official award of the grant is made through the first-come, first-served principle, based on the upload date of a complete file (fully signed learning agreement and diploma/ certificate). The grant is awarded only when:

  • The candidate is registered before the deadline of graduation
  • The learning agreement is signed by the trainee, the traineeship supervisor and the higher education institution from which the trainee is graduated before the start of the traineeship
  • The traineeship is completed within 12 months after graduation of a graduate, bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree.

Check out our FAQ's-page

Do you still have questions? Please contact us via info@flanderstraineeshipplatform.be