External academic internships and training placements in host institutions for university or vocational training students are purely training activities that are carried out ‘with a different methodology and take place in a setting other than the classroom’ (CRUE). Whether they are curricular or extracurricular placements, they contribute to student training.
Work placements in institutions, whether public or private, at national or international level, contribute to the comprehensive training of students and are an exclusively academic activity of a formative nature.
Given the confusion in the terms and definitions used when we talk about internships, training placements, grants, etc. It is vitally important to differentiate between two very clear areas of action:
a. External academic internships and training placements in host institutions, within Spain’s regulated higher education system. Traineeships as a mandatory part of professional training’ are the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport, and academic placements for university students, “traineeships within educational curricula”, are the responsibility of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Innovation. are the responsibility of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and
b. the rest of the ‘formulas’ that do not fall within this regulated system.
Based on this differentiation, there is a valid and proven regulation in force in relation to external academic internships and training placements in host entities, within the regulated higher education system in Spain, contained in the laws of the University system, vocational training law and RD of development and especially Royal Decree 592/2014 and Royal Decree 1791/2010 for university students and the recent regulation for vocational training and artistic and sports education.
The competence to legislate in the higher education system is held by:
c. Vocational Training: The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports is responsible for the policy of the Vocational Training System, both for students and for the working population (employed and unemployed), according to Royal Decree 274/2024 and Organic Law 3/2022.
d. University Education: The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities is responsible for university policy and scientific research.
e. University Autonomy: The Spanish Constitution (art. 27) and Law 2/2023 recognise the autonomy of universities to develop curricula and manage their functions independently.
There is a clear and specific legal system that sets and defines the rules and criteria for carrying out training activities. The regulation of external academic internships for university students and training placements has always been designed from a training perspective, never from an employment perspective.
Any proposal to modify the current system should include not only the participation/evaluation/opinion of the education system and host entities, both public and private, but also all those intermediate bodies that have managed non-work practical training in the field of Higher Education over the years, and which have extensive experience, such as the Network of University-Business Foundations (Red de Fundaciones Universidad Empresa).
These ideas are developed below:
Scope of Competence. Within the higher education system, it is defined who has the competence to legislate and to define education policy. And in no case is it the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy.
In the field of Vocational Education and Training. The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport is the Department of the General State Administration in charge:
It is the General Secretariat for Vocational Training, with the rank of Undersecretary, which ‘is responsible for the management of the competences attributed to the Department with respect to the Vocational Training System, both that integrated into the education system and the vocational training of the active population, the unemployed and the employed. The development of the curricular designs for vocational training in the Ministry’s own area of management, as well as the definition of the basic modules of spaces, facilities and equipment required for each training offer for this area, in collaboration with the Secretary of State for Education, the Undersecretariat and the Autonomous Body for the Management of Cultural Infrastructures and Equipment’.
Royal Decree 274/2024 of 19 March.
Organic Law 3/2022
The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities is the department of the General State Administration responsible for the proposal and execution of the Government’s policy on science, technological development and innovation in all sectors, including scientific research, as well as the proposal and execution of the Government’s policy on universities and their activities, and the rest of the competences and powers conferred by the legal system. The Secretariat for Universities exercises the functions of: The development of university policy, in coordination with the Council of Universities.
University Autonomy. According to Article 27 of the Spanish Constitution, ‘the autonomy of the universities is recognised, under the terms established by law’ ‘The universities are endowed with legal personality and carry out their functions under a system of autonomy by virtue of the fundamental right recognised in Article 27.10 of the Spanish Constitution (Article 3 of Law 2/2023 of the University System). Under the terms of this organic law, the autonomy of the universities includes and requires: The elaboration and approval of study plans leading to the award of official university Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees, or leading to the award of their own degrees, as well as the offer of Doctorate programmes.
Article 27 of the Spanish Constitution
Article 3 of Law 2/2023 on the University System.
Existing Legal System on the Purely Formative Character. In the case of the Spanish Regulated Higher Education System, there is a clear and specific legal system that defines the rules and criteria for carrying out training activities. The regulation of external academic internships for university students and training placements in the training system has been dealt with on different occasions, by different rules and under different names. But it has always been designed from a training perspective, never from an employment perspective. All these regulations have evolved to adapt to the reality of each moment, to ‘adopt the principles of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)’, ‘to improve and achieve greater guarantees and quality of training’, ‘for the personal and professional development of the person, the continuous improvement of their qualifications throughout their lives and the guarantee of satisfying the training needs of the productive system and employment’. It has always had as a common denominator the firm conviction that external internships, which are carried out in companies, institutions, in the training centres themselves, or in public and private entities, nationally or internationally, contribute to the comprehensive training of students and are an exclusively academic activity of a formative nature.
External academic internships are an activity of a training nature carried out by university students and supervised by the Universities, the aim of which is to allow them to apply and complement the knowledge acquired in their academic training, favouring the acquisition of skills that prepare them for professional activities, facilitate their employability and foster their capacity for entrepreneurship.
As stated in Royal Decree 592/2014. A right of university students, as set out in the University Student Statute Royal Decree 1791/2010. Also included in Royal Decree 822/2021 establishing the organisation of university education, which reiterates that internships are planned, developed and recognised in accordance with the objectives of the degree. Or in the Organic Law 2/2023, of the University System (LOSU) which defines external academic internships as ‘An activity of a training nature, carried out by university students and supervised by the universities, whose objective is to allow them to apply and complement the knowledge acquired in their academic training, favouring the acquisition of competences that prepare them for the exercise of professional activities, facilitate their employability and foster their capacity for entrepreneurship’.
Royal Decree 592/2014 of 11 July. Regulating external academic internships for university students.
It defines the nature and characteristics of these, establishes the aims, modalities, duration, timetables, recipients, rights, obligations and the quality assurance system.
Training placements in the vocational training system. Training placements in host entities for Vocational Training students constitute a training activity carried out by Vocational Training students. Organic Law 3/2022, of 31 March, on the organisation and integration of Vocational Training establishes that ‘Vocational Training shall be dual in nature, insofar as it shall be carried out between the training centre and the company.
Royal Decree 659/2023, of 18 July. Which develops the organisation of the Vocational Training System. In its Title IV, it expressly, clearly and objectively develops training in a company or similar organisation, detailing the general rules, the identification of companies and similar organisations, the purposes of the training phase for the acquisition of professional competences and learning outcomes specific to each training offer, as well as the organisation of these stays and each of the requirements for the period of time spent in the company or similar organisation..
Scope of the traineeship.
Although we understand that this legislation, as we have reiterated, cannot refer to the field of Regulated Higher Education in Spain, any other legislation should not only refer to the field of the company, as there are other entities, such as the Public Administration, non-profit organisations, etc. where these activities could be carried out, and we therefore ask you to refer to ‘host entities’.
Compensation for expenses in the field of purely educational activities.
We understand that activities of a purely educational and compulsory nature do not have to be compensated for expenses, just as the rest of the curricular subjects do not, except in cases where this is stipulated by educational legislation.
Better regulation: joining forces to improve legislation. Following the doctrine of the European Union, we believe it is essential to follow the Better Legislation Programme.
To this end, ‘simpler, more concrete, more easily enforceable and evidence-based legislation and policies’ are essential. ‘It will be increasingly important to back up regulatory proposals with evidence based on the most appropriate evaluations and reliable peer-reviewed scientific evidence, as well as respect for the precautionary principle’; calls, in this regard, on the Commission to manage evidence in a transparent way, and to ensure that it is easy to find, accessible, interoperable and reusable; stresses that quality legislation cannot be reduced only to quantitative short-term burden and cost reduction objectives, but must serve for all as a long-term investment in the shared prosperity of our societies and our future;
It also highlights the importance of introducing the ‘one plus one minus’ approach to reinforce the attention of policy makers to the implications and costs of implementing legislation, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Following this doctrine, it seems clear that for Spain’s Regulated Higher Education System there is already clear and concrete legislation and policy in place, which does not need to be changed as the data also supports the suitability of internships or traineeships.
‘The high rate of youth unemployment in Spain is more than five times lower among Vocational Training graduates’ (Preamble of the Organic Law 3/2022 on Vocational Training).
‘The employability rate of university graduates in Spain four years after graduation is 87.3%. In the case of students who have completed external academic internships, the employability rate is 91.3%’ (INE, 2019).
Fraud data.
In order to be able to rigorously analyse the data on the alleged massive fraud of ‘fake interns’, the Labour Inspectorate should issue a detailed study of the aforementioned fraud, given that, taking the data provided in the reports of the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate in 2021, of the 1,880 actions carried out by the Labour Inspectorate only 74 infractions were detected, which represents less than 4%. In 2022, although the percentage was somewhat higher, the cases detected were still marginal. This is why we doubt the urgent need