Finding an international job in brussels: Internships and traineeships

Internships in the EU aren't confined to the EU itself. A lot of training jobs and qualification requirements permit EU citizens and others to do a very wide range of internships as part of their formal qualifications. These training positions can cover pretty much the entire academic spectrum.

Internships also exist in a huge range of other organizations, even groups like Amnesty International, Greenpeace, International Crisis Group, to name a very few: All roads used to lead to Rome, but now they have to go via Brussels. These internships run quite a gamut, from unpaid study jobs to actual paid work, but the principle here is that in Brussels, just about all international organizations have some presence. Non government organizations, multinationals, embassies, and their service industries are quite literally everywhere. Diversity is an inevitable product of Brussels' role in Europe. The internships are highly diverse, too, as well as highly competitive, but they illustrate an important point about international career paths: a structured career pays for itself, in whatever profession you choose. Because of the sheer number of possibilities for training and internships in Brussels, we're not going to limit our frame of reference to any particular professional path. The whole point of internships, at any level, is training and qualification in your profession.

There's another function of internships which is often overlooked. Internships allow acquisition of a huge range of basic skills, all of which are portable across professions and career paths.

European Parliament and European Commission training and internships

Important note: Please remember when reading information regarding EP and EC internships and traineeships that all internships and traineeships are formal processes. They are part of the processes of qualification, and the formalities relate to both fairness and accreditation.

We've tried to provide a good series of references and links, but readers should note that these programs are subject to a range of administrative practices, and that current information should be sought when making applications.

European Parliament internships: Broad skills, broad applications

The EU isn't the only show in town for internships. However, it deserves credit for three strong internship programs run by the European Parliament.

The general and journalism internships, and the interpretation and translation internships, are good, practical broad applications for internships which have applications outside the EU/EP professional framework as well as obvious applications within it.

European Commission traineeships: Extending the training range

The European Commission is currently working on expanding its traineeship programs. The European Commission currently runs two 5 month training sessions for university graduates from member states and some non members.

EC traineeships correspond roughly to executive level internships, covering operations within EU Directorate Generalships. This is as much a cultural traineeship in the realities of the EU functions as practical administrative experience. Trainees are currently mainly drawn from graduates of law, political science, international relations and economics. However, the EC is now moving to expand into the big functional sciences and disciplines which are the powerhouses of the EU, like agriculture, technology, energy, finance, and media. This is a natural progression in the EU's evolution as an entity, and it brings with it the potential for excellent training in the international field at its highest, and most practical, level.

You can see what we mean about internships and traineeships being the key to fantastic career opportunities. The EC traineeships are already extremely competitive, with at least 7000 applications a year. The good news is that the EU does make a point of competitive applications, so talent won't be ignored.

Before we go any further, have a look through the links. See anything interesting? It'd be strange if you didn't. Keep looking, and you'll see a career.