Foreign work placements for students

IFA organises and supports foreign work placements for Austrian students of VET schools and colleges.

Image Students

Who can participate?

VET school and college students aged 16 and above can apply at IFA for financial support for foreign work placements. Within the Lifelong Learning / Leonardo da Vinci programme grants can only be awarded once. Another work placement can be done as skilled worker after graduation.

Which types of grants are there?

Within the European Lifelong Learning / Leonardo da Vinci programme funding is provided for travel, subsistence and assurance costs incurred by the foreign work placement. The placement must cover a minimum period of two weeks and take place in one of the countries participating in the programme.

Students receive a weekly allowance that is dependent on the country and that is awarded as a lump sum. Language courses attended for the purpose of the work placement can also be subsidised. In most of the cases the funding does not cover the total expenses incurred by the placement. A payment can be arranged directly between trainee and hosting institution. IFA does not organise paid work placements.

Students who

  • do a work placement in a country that does not participate in the European Lifelong Learning / Leonardo da Vinci programme (e.g. Croatia, Canada etc.),
  • have already received funding from Leonardo da Vinci,
  • do not receive Leonardo funding for various reasons,

can apply at IFA for financial support from the Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth. It is a prerequisite for all types of grants mentioned that a vocationally-specific work placement is done abroad – IFA does not support the attendance of language courses only.

Interested in a foreign work placement?

The following application documents are required:

  • Application / motivation letter (German and English)
  • Curriculum Vitae (German and English)
  • Copy of a valid ID
  • Copy of the last school certificate
  • Additional certificates (of language courses, etc.)
  • Letter of agreement of a parent/legal guardian of people under 18

Students who

  • already have a fixed traineeship abroad,
  • do parts of their work placement that is obligatory within their VET programme,
  • have sound vocational and linguistic competences and
  • whose remuneration is lower than the costs incurred by the placement

are given priority.