Regulating Work Experience Programs in the Greek Post-Secondary Education: The Case of Traineeships

The smooth transition of young people to the labor market and their competency in successfully planning and developing their careers constitute key aims of all modern education systems. The implementation of work placements plays an important role in the realization of these aims by enhancing the communication between the education providers and the world of work, and by contributing to the development of professionally oriented competences by young learners. The paper focuses on traineeships, a particular type of work placement, which is implemented by post-secondary education institutions in Greece. A traineeship includes a variety of training processes with clear objectives and predetermined assessment strategies, which help trainees to gain professional skills and experience through an experiential process. Its ability to exercise a strong influence on the professional prospects of young people led many education institutions to integrate traineeship opportunities in their study program either as a compulsory component or as a non-mandatory option. The paper analyses the traineeship component of the study programs of three post-secondary education institutions in Greece, i.e. Institutes of Vocational Training (IVTs), Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Technological Educational Institutes (TEIs). More analytically, the paper investigates the legislative provisions concerning the organization and implementation of student traineeships, and records the evolution of the particular learning option over the years. In addition, it attempts to identify indications of interaction between post-secondary education institutions as regards the organization and the particular features of student traineeship schemes, which may imply the development of mutual learning. The paper concludes by articulating some remarks regarding the implementation of traineeships in Greek post-secondary institutions and the improvement of their organizational and operational characteristics.