Can small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) host Erasmus+ trainees?

Yes. There is no minimum size requirement for host organisations under Erasmus+. SMEs, startups, family businesses, NGOs, research institutes, and public-sector bodies can all participate as host employers. The key requirement is supervisory capacity: the organisation must be able to assign a named supervisor, agree on learning outcomes in a Learning Agreement, and provide meaningful work-related tasks for the minimum duration of two months.

Can non-EU students receive an Erasmus+ traineeship grant?

Yes, with an important qualification. Erasmus+ eligibility is determined by enrolment at a participating institution, not by nationality. A student from India, Indonesia, or the United States who is enrolled at a European university holding an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) can access Erasmus+ traineeship funding through their sending institution's national allocation. The grant is tied to the institution, not the passport.

Does the host company have to pay the Erasmus+ traineeship student anything?

No mandatory payment obligation exists under Erasmus+ rules. The grant is paid by the sending university directly to the student. Companies may choose to pay an additional stipend or cover housing costs, and in some countries local labour law may apply if the traineeship is classified as an employment contract. Many host companies pay nothing beyond providing the placement itself. This is the single most common misconception that prevents companies from engaging with the programme.

What is the minimum duration for an Erasmus+ traineeship?

The minimum duration is 2 months (60 calendar days). The maximum within a single study cycle is 12 months, including any prior Erasmus+ study exchange periods. A student who completed a 3-month study exchange in Year 2 has 9 months of remaining Erasmus+ mobility available for a traineeship.

What is the difference between an Erasmus+ KA1 study exchange and an Erasmus+ traineeship?

An Erasmus+ KA1 study exchange sends a student to a partner university for academic coursework. The host is always another university with an inter-institutional agreement. An Erasmus+ traineeship sends a student to any eligible employer (company, NGO, public body, research institute) for work-based learning. Credit recognition is mandatory for study exchanges; it is optional for traineeships. Traineeships also allow recent graduates to participate for up to 12 months after completing their degree, which study exchanges do not.

Can a student do more than one Erasmus+ traineeship period?

Yes. A student can complete multiple Erasmus+ mobility periods across different semesters or academic years, provided the cumulative duration within one study cycle does not exceed 12 months. The 12-month cap applies across all Erasmus+ activity types combined. Multiple traineeships at different host organisations in different countries are permitted as long as the total remains within that ceiling.

How does a company or university sign a Learning Agreement for an Erasmus+ traineeship?

The Learning Agreement for Traineeships is a tri-party document signed by the student, the sending institution, and the host employer. Most institutions use the European Commission's standard Learning Agreement template or their own equivalent approved by their National Agency. Signing is typically done via the Erasmus+ app or through the institution's mobility management system (Mobility Online, MoveON, or similar). The host employer needs to provide: the legal name and address of the organisation, the name and email of the designated supervisor, the start and end dates, and a description of tasks aligned to the agreed learning outcomes.

Erasmus+ Traineeships 2026-2027: How Companies and Universities Can Participate

Erasmus+ traineeship grants range from EUR 450 to EUR 600 per month depending on the country pair, and any EU-registered company can host a trainee at zero mandatory cost. That second fact is the one most HR coordinators and mobility officers do not know. This guide clarifies how participation works from both the company side and the university side, including the exact paperwork chain, the 2026-2027 grant table by country group, and the answers to seven questions that come up repeatedly during institutional onboarding calls.

The Misconception Table: How Erasmus+ Funding Actually Flows

The most common reason companies decline to engage with Erasmus+ traineeships is a misunderstanding of who pays whom. The structure is straightforward and company-friendly once it is clear.

Belief	Reality
"The company must pay a grant or stipend to the student."	No. The Erasmus+ grant is paid by the sending university directly to the student from national agency funds. No money flows from the company to the programme.
"The company applies to the EU for funding."	No. Only universities (and other higher education institutions) apply for Erasmus+ KA1 mobility funds via their National Agency. Companies are hosts, not applicants.
"Only large companies or those with HR departments can participate."	No. There is no minimum size threshold. SMEs, startups, and NGOs participate as frequently as corporates, often finding more operational benefit per placement.
"The company must have an existing partnership with a university."	No formal partnership agreement is required at the institutional level. The student's sending university approves the placement; the company signs the Learning Agreement directly with the student and university coordinator.
"The company must provide academic supervision or issue ECTS credits."	ECTS credit recognition is arranged between the student and their sending institution. The company's obligation is to provide a named workplace supervisor, not to grant academic credit.

The operational reality for most host companies: sign the Learning Agreement, assign a supervisor, provide meaningful tasks, and complete a brief evaluation at the end of the placement. That is the full company-side commitment under the Erasmus+ framework.

Company Eligibility and Required Paperwork

Any organisation registered in an Erasmus+ Programme Country can act as a host employer. This includes private companies of any sector and size, public bodies, NGOs, research institutes, cultural organisations, and social enterprises. The only category excluded is EU institutions themselves and bodies that administer EU programmes, to prevent conflicts of interest.

The practical eligibility check is whether the organisation can provide:

A named supervisor with relevant professional background in the traineeship area
A working environment aligned to the student's field of study (broad interpretation; a marketing student can be placed at a logistics company in a communications role)
A minimum placement duration of two months
Willingness to complete the Learning Agreement and a final evaluation form

The paperwork the company is responsible for is limited to three documents:

The Learning Agreement for Traineeships. A three-party document setting out the tasks, learning outcomes, working hours, and start and end dates. Standard template is available from the European Commission. The company signs; no legal review is typically required.
The internship or traineeship contract. A separate agreement between the company and student governing the employment or work-experience relationship under local law. Some countries require this to be a formal contract; others classify it as a voluntary agreement. Your legal counsel or HR function confirms the local requirement.
The supervisor sign-off on the ECTS form (if credit applies). If the sending institution requires academic credit, the supervisor completes a brief evaluation form at the end of the placement. This is one to two pages describing the student's performance against the agreed learning outcomes. Credit is determined by the university, not the company.

Understanding how the Living Profile approach makes matching easier for companies is one reason host organisations return to place multiple Erasmus+ trainees across consecutive cohorts: the pre-qualification work sits with the platform, not the company's HR team.

University Eligibility and the Grant Pool Mechanics

On the sending side, participation requires the institution to hold an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE). As of 2026, over 3,300 institutions across 48 participating countries hold an active ECHE. The ECHE is issued by the European Commission and is a prerequisite for receiving Erasmus+ KA1 mobility grants.

The grant pool works as follows. Each academic year, the sending institution applies to its National Agency (for example, the DAAD for German universities, DUS for Danish institutions, Nuffic for Dutch institutions) for a block allocation of mobility funds. The National Agency distributes funds based on the institution's historical activity, strategic priorities, and available budget under the national Erasmus+ programme budget line. The institution then allocates grants internally across faculties and mobility types (study exchange versus traineeship).

For mobility coordinators, the practical implications are:

Traineeship grants are drawn from the same KA1 pool as study exchange grants. Institutions that underutilise traineeship activity may reallocate those funds to study exchanges, and vice versa.
Grant amounts per student are set by the National Agency, not by the institution. The institution cannot increase the per-student amount beyond its national rate.
Finding a sending partner (for host companies or universities not yet in the network) means contacting institutions with active ECHE status in the relevant sending country. Internship Abroad operates across 17 markets and can support bilateral introductions for institutional partners.
The timeline from student identification to Learning Agreement signature typically runs four to eight weeks. Mobility coordinators managing autumn 2026 cohorts should be confirming host placements in May and June.

See also the companion article on Erasmus+ traineeship grant amounts by country and how students apply for the student-facing view of the same process.

Country Grant Table 2026-2027

The Erasmus+ programme divides host countries into three groups based on cost of living. These are the individual support rates for traineeships. Traineeship rates are typically EUR 50 to EUR 100/month higher than study exchange rates within the same group, reflecting the additional living costs associated with traineeship destinations where university accommodation is not available.

Group	Host Countries	Grant per month (2026-2027)
Group 1 (highest cost of living)	Norway, Iceland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden	EUR 570 to EUR 600
Group 2 (mid cost of living)	Germany, France, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece	EUR 490 to EUR 540
Group 3 (lower cost of living)	Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey	EUR 420 to EUR 450

The exact amount within each range is determined by the sending institution's National Agency allocation and the specific country pair (sending country to host country). A Polish student going to Germany will receive a different amount than a Dutch student going to Germany, because each National Agency sets its own rate schedule within the European Commission's band. The Grant Agreement signed with the sending institution before departure contains the confirmed figure.

For institutions managing students from multiple countries, including international students enrolled at European universities: Indian students seeking Erasmus+ traineeships through European institutions follow the same grant structure as domestic students, provided their sending institution holds an ECHE and includes them in its Erasmus+ traineeship allocation.

Practical Checklist for Companies Starting in 2026-2027

Confirm the organisation qualifies as a host (registered in a Programme Country, no EU-institution conflict).
Identify one or two roles where a traineeship placement makes operational sense for the September 2026 or January 2027 intake.
Contact either a sending university directly or an institutional placement partner to receive pre-vetted student profiles.
Review the student's Learning Agreement draft and return it signed within the timeline agreed with the university coordinator (typically five to ten working days).
Assign a named supervisor before the student arrives. This person does not need to be HR; a team lead or senior colleague in the relevant function is sufficient.
Complete the end-of-placement evaluation form provided by the sending institution. This is required for the student to receive the second instalment of their grant.

Practical Checklist for University Mobility Offices Starting in 2026-2027

Confirm your institution holds an active ECHE. Verify via the ERASMUS+ Project Results Platform or your National Agency's portal.
Determine the traineeship allocation for 2026-2027 from your National Agency. Allocations are typically communicated between March and May for the following academic year.
Communicate available funding to faculties and student services by June so students have time to identify host employers before the September intake.
Provide a Learning Agreement template to students. The European Commission's standard template is accepted by all National Agencies; many institutions use customised versions with pre-filled institutional fields.
Set up or confirm your OLS (Online Linguistic Support) access for students completing the mandatory language assessment before departure.
Schedule the Grant Agreement signing process so that the first instalment (typically 70 to 80 percent of the total grant) can be disbursed before departure.

Internship Abroad works with university mobility offices across 17 markets to support host identification, Learning Agreement coordination, and pre-placement student profiling. If your institution needs verified host companies for an upcoming Erasmus+ traineeship cohort, visit the Internship Abroad EU hub or contact the team via the institutional onboarding form.