The ECA is a great place to do a traineeship. You will have the opportunity to work hard on things that really matter, and you will leave knowing that your work has helped to make a difference for the future of Europe and its citizens.
You will be assigned a traineeship supervisor, who will help you integrate into a team and monitor your workload. From the very beginning, you will be supporting a team of professional auditors as they analyse the impact of EU policies, suggest improvements, or check for any financial irregularities.
You might even be asked to travel with your team to carry out audit work in another EU country, which will give you the chance to see first-hand how the EU’s auditors work in the field. In the non-audit departments, you will join one of our ongoing projects and work together with the project teams, under the supervision of the project manager or an experienced team member.
Work together – learn together
You will spend a lot of time with your fellow trainees. ECA trainees all start on the same day, in a cohort. Experiencing the traineeship together usually means that our trainees become a close-knit group. As well as the practical experience they gain, they also form a network of contacts which lasts long after the traineeship has ended.
Standard traineeships
We offer traineeships to university students and graduates in fields of study relevant to our work. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to spend 6 months in Luxembourg making a real contribution to our work and helping the EU to operate more effectively. If you are interested in what we have to offer and you meet our eligibility criteria, why not apply?
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There are two traineeship sessions at the ECA, covering the following periods
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to
(of the same calendar year);
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of one calendar year to
of the following year.
Within these two sessions, individual traineeships can last between 3 and 6 months.
Allowance
During your traineeship, you will receive an allowance of €1 600 per month. We may offer unpaid traineeships at the ECA if trainees already receive an allowance from another organisation.
Eligibility
Are you eligible?
To do a traineeship with us, you must:
- be a national of an EU member state;
- have completed at least four semesters of university study in a field relevant to our work;
- have very good knowledge of one official EU language and satisfactory knowledge of a second.
Our traineeship programmes aim to allow as many people as possible to gain experience of working in EU public administration. If you have already worked for an EU institution or agency in any capacity, including as a trainee, or if you have worked as an assistant to an MEP, you can’t apply for an ECA traineeship. For more details, see the
ECA rules on traineeships.
Traineeships in the field of artificial intelligence
We offer traineeships in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide recent graduates or doctoral students, who are selected on the broadest possible geographical basis, with an opportunity to gain their first working and learning experience in an EU institution. Trainees in AI will work on pre-determined projects originating from the implementation actions described in the ECA’s
AI Strategy and Deployment Roadmap(opens in new window).
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to spend 6 to 12 months in Luxembourg making a real contribution to our work and helping the EU to operate more effectively. If you are interested in what we have to offer and you meet our eligibility criteria, why not apply?
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There is one traineeship session per year
Allowance
More information will be published soon.
Eligibility
Are you eligible?
To do a traineeship in AI with us, you must:
- be a national of an EU member state;
- have completed university studies attested by a diploma (awarded in EU member states or that are subject to equivalence certificates issued by member state authorities), when the normal period of university education is 3 years or more, or be currently undertaking doctoral studies in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Technology or similar disciplines relevant for AI projects;
- have very good knowledge of one official EU language and a satisfactory knowledge of at least one other official EU language; for the purposes of working on AI projects, a sound level of English is required (minimum level C1 in understanding, speaking and writing).
Our traineeship programmes are designed to allow as many people as possible to gain experience of working in the EU public administration. If you have already worked for an EU institution or agency in any capacity, including as a trainee, or if you have worked as an assistant to an MEP, you are not eligible to apply for an ECA traineeship in AI. For more details, see the
ECA rules on traineeships.
If you are selected, you will need to provide us with a certificate from your national authorities stating that you have a clean criminal record. You will also need to submit a medical certificate stating that you are fit for work. If you have a disability, please provide a letter from your doctor. The information provided in this letter will help us assess how we can reasonably accommodate your needs and make your traineeship a positive experience.
Positive Action Programme for trainees with a disability
About the programme
The European Court of Auditors places a high value on inclusion, providing opportunities for people with disabilities to do traineeships at the ECA. In addition to the standard traineeship scheme, the Positive Action Programme for trainees with disabilities offers an additional pathway for those with long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments.
The ECA offers two traineeships per year to EU nationals with a recognised disability.
We are currently accepting applications for traineeships in all our areas of work: audit, translation, communications, general administration, IT and library management. We particularly welcome applications from candidates in the fields of IT audit and data science. This is part of our ongoing efforts to improve our use of technology and data in audit and are looking for trainees with the vision and ideas to make a real impact in these areas.
Reasonable accommodation
By “reasonable accommodation” we mean any appropriate measures, where needed, allowing people with disabilities to work on an equal footing with others, unless these measures would place an undue burden on the employer.
The ECA can modify equipment, practices or policies on a case by case basis.
If you are selected as one of our trainees, we will contact you to discuss any specific needs you may have and ensure that you have all the necessary software, hardware, or ergonomic equipment from the beginning of your traineeship.
We also contact the ECA team that hosts our trainees to prepare for your arrival and your time with us.
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There are two traineeship sessions at the ECA, covering the following periods
-
to
(of the same calendar year);
-
of one calendar year to
of the following year.
Within these two sessions, individual traineeships may last between 3 and 6 months.
Allowance
During your traineeship, you will receive an allowance of €2 000 per month.
Eligibility
Are you eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for a traineeship under the Positive Action Programme for trainees with a disability, you must:
- be a national of an EU member state;
- have completed at least four semesters of university study in a field relevant to our work;
- have very good knowledge of one official EU language and satisfactory knowledge of a second;
- have a recognised disability.
As part of the application, you will need to provide
proof of your disability. This can be:
- an official document from a national authority or any accredited body confirming your disability, or
- a certificate issued by a medical doctor within the last 6 months.
If you will be uploading a doctor’s certificate, it needs to:
- clearly state the condition which the medical doctor considers a disability, and
- include confirmation that, to the best of the doctor’s understanding, the condition in question is a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
Our traineeship programmes are designed to allow as many people as possible to gain experience of working in EU public administration. If you have already worked for an EU institution or agency in any capacity, including as a trainee, or if you have worked as an assistant to an MEP, you are not eligible to apply for an ECA traineeship. For more details, see the
ECA rules on traineeships.
If you are selected, you will need to provide us with a copy of your passport or identity card, a copy of your diplomas and a certificate from your national authorities stating that you have a clean criminal record.
Traineeships for auditors from the supreme audit institutions of candidate countries for accession to the European Union
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) offers traineeships to auditors from candidate countries' supreme audit institutions (SAIs). These traineeships provide hands-on experience of European integration and of how an EU institution works in practice on a day-to-day basis. Such an experience should help these SAIs in their preparations for EU accession.
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There are two traineeship sessions at the ECA, covering the following periods
-
to
(of the same calendar year);
-
of one calendar year to
of the following calendar year.
Allowance
During your traineeship, you will receive an allowance of €1 800 per month.
Eligibility
Are you eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for a traineeship with us, you must:
- be actively employed by the SAI of a country that is a candidate for accession to the EU;
- be a national of that country;
- have expressed an interest in receiving practical training relating to one of the ECA’s areas of activity;
- have a good knowledge of at least one of the ECA’s working languages (English and French);
- not have previously undertaken a traineeship at the ECA.
If you are selected, you will need to provide us with a copy of your passport, a certificate from your national authorities stating that you have a clean criminal record and proof that you are covered against all risks of illness, accident and invalidity. You will also need to submit a medical certificate stating that you are fit for work. If you have a disability, please provide a letter from your doctor. The information provided in this letter will help us assess the reasonable accommodations needed to make your traineeship a positive experience.
Selection procedure
The selection procedure is organised directly with the supreme audit institutions. The candidates they propose will have an interview with the audit chambers, following which the selected candidates will receive an offer for the traineeship.
Apply here
To apply for the
standard traineeships or the
Positive Action Programme for trainees with a disability, find your preferred session in the list below and click “apply” to go to the application form. You can only apply through this form – we don’t accept applications sent any other way.
For the
Positive Action Programme for trainees with a disability, send documentation as proof to
ECA-DI-STAGE@eca.europa.eu by
Saturday, November 30, 2024, specifying ‘Positive Action Programme for trainees with a disability’ in the subject line.
For the
traineeships in the field of artificial intelligence, more information will be published soon.
