In order to help those most in need to find jobs (namely job seekers 30 or older, employees with reduced work capacity, and disabled employees), the National Employment Agency (Agence pour le développement de l'emploi – ADEM) may offer them a professional training internship (stage de professionnalisation - SP), subject to certain conditions.
The aim of this type of internship is to allow jobseekers to concretely demonstrate their skills and capabilities to employers.
The internships are 6 weeks long.
Who is concerned
ADEM may offer such a professional training internship to jobseekers who:
- are aged 30 or older;
- are currently in an external redeployment programme (reclassement externe);
- have the status of disabled worker.
Prerequisites
The jobseeker must be registered with ADEM for at least one month before being able to participate in such an internship.
Employers who wish to offer professional training internships must be in a position to offer a real job prospect to the jobseeker at the end of the training.
How to proceed
Internship offer
An employer who is willing to take on a jobseeker as intern should contact ADEM’s Employer Services and must declare a job vacancy.
Duration of the training:
The professional training internship is 6 weeks long. Jobseekers who are considered to be highly qualified, i.e. those who have completed a least 3 years of higher education, may have the duration of the internship increased to 9 weeks if the position is in line with their qualifications.
Procedure of the internship
An internship agreement is signed between the jobseeker, the employer and ADEM. The jobseeker is supervised, throughout the internship, by a mentor appointed by the employer. During the internship, the jobseeker is entitled to 2 days of leave per month. In the event of a change that occurs during the internship, the employer must inform ADEM immediately.
The holiday must be taken before the end of the internship. There is no entitlement to financial compensation for holidays not taken.
Internship allowance
The professional training internship at a company is an unpaid internship. The employer is therefore not obliged to pay any allowance to the trainee.
However, the trainee is entitled to an internship allowance of 393,54 € (index 944,43) per month, paid by ADEM. To enable ADEM to pay the jobseekers the employer will send ADEM a statement of the jobseeker's attendance each week, no later than the 3rd working day of the following month.
Jobseekers receiving unemployment benefits, a tideover allowance, a professional tideover allowance, a waiting pension or seriously disabled allowance continue to receive those benefits throughout the internship.
During the internship the trainee is subject to insurance against occupational accidents; the insurance contributions being paid by the Employment Fund (Fonds pour l’emploi).
End of internship
The employer informs ADEM of the possibilities for integrating the jobseeker into the company.
Hiring the jobseeker
If hired , immediately after the internship, under a permanent employment contract (CDI), the internship period must be deducted from any trial period that is stipulated in the contract.
If, at the end of the internship, an intern who
- is aged 45 years or older
- is in an external redeployment programme
- has the disabled worker status
is recruited under a full-time CDI, the employer may be reimbursed, upon request to the ADEM, for 50% of the minimum social wage for unskilled employees over the 12 months after hiring. If the employee is hired under a part-time CDI contract, the reimbursement will following the hire. If the employee receives a permanent contract on a part-time basis, the reimbursement will be calculated in proportion to the work schedule.
The refund application may be made at earliest 12 months after the intern is hired. However, the refund will only be given if the former intern is still under contract when the refund application is made, and if the duration of the internship was deducted for the trial period provided for in the employment contract.
This reimbursement can be combined with other financial aids, with the exception of tax relief (Bonification d'impôt), within the limit of the amount of the monthly social minimum salary for unskilled workers.
The professionalization internship (SP) may be followed immediately by an employment reintegration contract (CRE), subject to prior agreement of a new supervision plan introduced by the employer at least two weeks before the end of the SP. In this case, the combined duration of the SP and the CRE may not exceed 12 months. The duration of the internship is then deducted from the duration of the CRE.
The professionalisation internship is automatically terminated in the event of placement in an appropriate job, either with the same company or with another company (signature of an employment contract), and at the latest after the expiry of the contract.
ADEM may terminate the professionalization internship before its expiry date at the reasoned and valid request of the employer or jobseeker.
Jobseekers, whether or not they are receiving benefits, may not refuse the professionalisation internship offered to them by ADEM without good reason, or terminate it at the risk of incurring the sanctions provided for by law.
Non-hiring of the jobseeker
If the trainee is not hired at the end of the internship, the employer provides ADEM with a document indicating the skills acquired by the jobseeker during the internship, as well as any weaknesses that were noted.
Jobseekers are advised to contact their counsellor at ADEM to decide on future actions.