Erasmus Work Placements
Erasmus Work Placements are a fantastic opportunity for you to test your career ambitions, test your motivation and gain credit towards your Exeter degree. You’ll immerse yourself in another culture, improve your language skills, make new friends and gain all important work experience. Working abroad will dramatically boost your confidence, enhance your CV and develop graduate level skills and global employability competencies that employers are looking for.
Job Alerts
Find the latest Erasmus Work Abroad placements via the job alert pages below:
Erasmus CV and covering letter checks
The Global Employability Team are offering appointments to check applications/CVs and covering letters for Erasmus Work Placement or Language Assistant opportunities. These slots will be bookable through the appointments section in My Career Zone - search for 'Global Opportunities' from the drop-down 'Topic' menu.
Please ensure that you bring along a hard copy of your application/CV and covering letter to the appointment written for a specific job application that you intend to apply for.
How does it work?
You can work in a variety of employment sectors. Placements must be full-time, a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 12 months. They must be taken as part of a module.
Back to top
Who can take part?
You must be a registered University of Exeter student. The placement must form part of your degree i.e. you must be able to take it as part of an approved module.
You are advised to have sufficient capacity in the language of your chosen country to meet the requirements of the work placement and to have enough language skills to cope at a social level. Funding is available for in-country language tuition in some European countries (not France, Germany, or Spain) prior to your work placement. See EILC for further details and to apply.
Back to top
Why should I consider an Erasmus Work Placement?
- The bulk of British trade is conducted with our partners in the European Union.
- It is now more important than ever for you to gain concrete work experience during your degree.
- Improve your language skills in a non English speaking country
- Enhance your CV and gain personal skills that employers are looking for.
Where can I work?
You can work in all 27 European Union Member States, EEA countries and candidate countries:
- EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
- EFTA-EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
- Candidate country: Turkey
- Switzerland
Further information and how to apply
- Eligible enterprises include ‘all undertakings engaged in economic activity in the public or private sector whatever their size, legal status or the economic sector in which they operate, including the social economy’.
- EU institutions (such as the European Commission) and other EU bodies, Organisations managing EU programmes (such as National Agencies) and national diplomatic representations (embassies/consulates) are NOT eligible.
- Most students organise their own placement or use existing college contacts. You should also check out My Career Zone for internship opportunities.
- Erasmus grants are awarded only for mobility taking place between 1 July 2013 to 30 September 2014.
- The value of the grant varies form year to year but is typically around 370€ per month paid in two instalments, usually late November and June.
- Your placement must be approved by your Erasmus Academic Co-ordinator
Back to top
Technical Requirements
For those students who are doing or have already decided to do an Erasmus placement, the technical requirements, and Erasmus work abroad hanbdbook are available. Requirements vary from year to year, so please ensure you follow the appropriate link:
- 2011-2012 Year Abroad Work Placement Forms and Handbook
- 2012-2013 Year Abroad Work Placement Forms and Handbook
What are the requirements for approval of an Erasmus Work Placement?
Placements must:
- be full time (35 hours + per week, max 40)
- be for a minimum 12 weeks for 1 semester placement, max 12 months (your course module will also have a minimum requirement
- feature tasks at ‘degree/graduate level’ i.e. developing your graduate empoyabilty skillset, not menial work
- include some provision for leave
- preferably be office-based - placements that are not office-based would need additional risk assessment checks, so best to consult with erasmusworkabroad@exeter.ac.uk first about such possibilities before applying
- not include 'living on the job': we do not generally allow placements where you would be living at the workplace (e.g. residential colleges etc.) or where accommodation is provided as part of the placement contract
