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France-Germany: a bilateral agreement on cross-border apprenticeships!
September 2023
A bilateral agreement on cross-border apprenticeships was signed between France and Germany on July 21st, 2023. French and German apprentices will now be able to complete the practical or theoretical part of their training in the neighbouring country.
"I salute the remarkable work carried out with Germany, which today enables us begin laying the foundation for a greater ambition for our young apprentices: to build a major European apprenticeship area in the future. I am convinced that it is through these concrete solutions that social Europe is built, and that the feeling of belonging to the Union is strengthened on both sides of borders", emphasised Carole Grandjean, Minister Delegate for Vocational Education and Training.
"This is a key step towards ensuring that French and German apprentices can complete the practical or theoretical part of their apprenticeship on either side of the border within a secure legal framework [which] meets a long-standing demand from many young people living on either side of the border", reads the press release from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Integration.
"In concrete terms, thanks to this agreement, apprentices undergoing training in an apprentice training centre (CFA) located anywhere in France will be able to carry out their practical training in a company located in the German border Länder of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Similarly, apprentices studying at a German training school in these Länder will be able to complete their practical training in a company located in France".
This agreement is the first in a series of other agreements currently being prepared with Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain.
Photo: Médiatheque European Commission
