European Agency for the Management

of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States




1

TRAINEESHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT FRONTEX

The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the
External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) was
created to coordinate operational cooperation between Member States in the field
of management of external borders; assist Member States in the training of
national border guards, including the establishment of common training standards;
carry out risk analyses; follow up the development of research relevant to the
control and surveillance of external borders; assist Member States in circumstances
requiring increased technical and operational assistance at the external borders,
and to provide Member States with the necessary support in organising joint return
operations.

1. Aim
The aim of introducing traineeships at Frontex is to create benefit for both parties
the organisation and the trainees by allowing recent university graduates to gain
their first experience of working for an EU body and to ensure the completion of
specific tasks which are useful to Frontex.

2. Principles
2.1 Trainees shall benefit from the traineeship by:
putting in practice the knowledge they have acquired during their studies in
their particular areas of competence;
acquiring knowledge about the European Union institutions and bodies, and
their activities;
gaining experience and knowledge of the day-to-day Frontex work;
enabling them to work in a multi-cultural environment.

2.2 Frontex shall benefit from the traineeship programme by:


European Agency for the Management
of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States




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the contribution of trainees performing specific tasks of utility to Frontex;
receiving input from recent graduates bringing up-to-date academic
knowledge;
receiving the trainees input from their various levels of expertise, and their
national experiences, views and up-to-date academic knowledge;
building a pool of people with first-hand experience and training in procedures
applicable to Frontex activities, who could cooperate with Frontex or other EU
bodies in the future;
creating a pool of long-term goodwill ambassadors to protect and promote
ideas and values of Frontex and of the European Unioninstitution and bodies.

3. Eligibility
Any candidate who meets the following minimum eligibility criteria may apply for
a traineeship at Frontex:
3.1 Nationality
Trainees shall be nationals of the Member States of the European Union,
Schengen Associated Countries or candidate countries benefiting from
a pre-accession strategy.
3.2 Qualifications
3.2.1 Education
Candidates must have completed at least three years (six semesters)
of higher education course (university education, studies equivalent
to university law enforcement studies) on the date of sending the
application.
3.2.2 Languages
Candidates must have very good, proven knowledge of the working
language of Frontex (English) at the level B2 or higher.


European Agency for the Management
of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States




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3.3 Prior experience
3.3.1 Traineeships are, as a rule, open to candidates who have not yet had
a possibility to work either as a staff member or as a trainee (formal or
informal, paid or unpaid) in the European institutions, agencies or bodies.

3.3.2 However, if justified for the benefit of service, Frontex may consider
applications from candidates having interned at other EU institutions if
they may present particular value for the Agency.
4. Application process
All applications will be subject to pre-selection taking into account the applicants
profile and the organisational needs and requirements.
4.1 Submission of applications
There are 3 requirements to be fulfilled in order for the application to be
considered valid:
4.1.1 Candidates should submit their application using the Standard Frontex
Traineeship Application Form .
4.1.2 Candidates should clearly state in their application for which of the
announced traineeship opportunities they are applying. Each traineeship
position requires separate application.
4.1.3 The application shall be signed, scanned and send electronically by the
candidate, to the e-mail address traineeships@frontex.europa.eu in order to
confirm his/her compliance with the eligibility criteria for the traineeship.
Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria or are incorrectly submitted
will be rejected.


European Agency for the Management
of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States




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4.2 Selection procedure
Frontex makes a selection of trainees on the basis of the detailed screening of the
received application forms. In addition, candidates may be contacted by Frontex
over the phone in order to discuss their experience and mutual expectations prior
to the final selection decision.
Successful candidates will be informed of the dates and rules governing the
traineeship.
Applicants may withdraw their applications any time informing Frontex by letter or
email (traineeships@frontex.europa.eu).
5. Organisation
5.1 Duration of traineeship
5.1.1 The traineeship may last a minimum of three and a maximum of
twelve months.
5.1.2 Traineeship duration may not be extended beyond the maximum
length laid down in these rules unless it is in the interest of Frontex, clearly
justified in writing and approved by the respective Director of Division and
finally by the DED
5.2 Beginning of the traineeship
5.2.1 Trainees in Frontex shall start 1st or 16th day of the month only.
Successful candidates will be asked to submit a copy of their passport and
supporting documents from their studies at latest on the day of starting the
traineeship. Candidates shall be also requested to submit any forms or
additional certificates required by Frontex upon starting the traineeship.
5.2.2 At the beginning of the traineeship the trainee will be asked to sign a
written agreement stating the conditions of the traineeship and his/her


European Agency for the Management
of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States




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activities during the traineeship period, as well as a Frontex Declaration of
Confidentiality (see paragraph 6.3.1).
5.2.3 Trainees shall be provided by Frontex with an office space, computer
access and other equipment necessary to perform their duties.
6. Rights and obligations of the trainee
6.1 Status
Admission to the traineeship program at Frontex does not award to the
participants the status of other servants of the Communities nor does it
entail any right or priority with regard to an appointment in the services of
Frontex.
6.2 Duties and obligations
6.2.1 Trainees shall be required to comply with the instructions given by
their tutor as well as the respective managers of the hosting entity. They
shall also comply with the internal rules governing the functioning of
Frontex, in particular the rules concerning security and confidentiality as
well as all provisions of the Frontex Code of Conduct.
6.2.2 Trainees must take part in all activities organised for them,
respecting the timetables and programs laid down.
6.2.3 Frontex reserves its right to terminate the traineeship and to take
legal proceedings against any person who does not respect their
obligations; including obligations related to discretion and confidentiality
(see point 6.3).


European Agency for the Management
of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States




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6.2.4 At the end of the traineeship period, trainees must submit to the
tutor a report on their activities and objectives met during the traineeship
period.
6.3 Confidentiality
6.3.1 Trainees must exercise the greatest discretion regarding facts and
information that come to their knowledge during the course of their
traineeship. They must not, in any matter, disclose to any unauthorized
person any document or information not already made public. To ensure
this discretion, trainees shall be requested to implement and sign Frontex
Declaration of Confidentiality before starting the traineeship.
6.3.2 If trainees participation in a particular project during the traineeship
does involve access to classified information, only candidates holding
security clearance of the appropriate EU level from the Member States will
be accepted.
6.3.3 The tasks proposed for the traineeship should not normally involve
the handling of sensitive but unclassified information. Any deviation from
this principle must be clearly explained and justified by the hosting entity
manager in a written submission to the relevant Director.
6.3.4 If the traineeship is to be used for the trainees thesis, the tutor and
the Head of the hosting Frontex entity are responsible for reviewing the
texts to make sure that that there are no confidentiality issues.
6.4 Grants
6.4.1 Traineeship will be awarded a flat rate monthly grant. The amount of
the grant is 700 EUR. The amount of the grant shall not be subject to
correction coefficient.


European Agency for the Management
of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States




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6.4.2 The above mentioned grants shall be calculated in EUR and paid in
PLN, according to the InforEuro monthly exchange rate, by the end of each
month of the traineeship performed (in case the traineeship takes place in
FOO or in Brussels, the grant will be paid in EUR).
6.4.3 Trainees are solely responsible for the payment of any taxes due on
the grants received from Frontex by virtue of the laws in force in the State
concerned. Grants awarded to trainees are not subject to the tax
regulations applying to officials and other servants of the European
Communities.
6.4.4 At the end of traineeship and for tax purposes, the Human Resources
Sector shall provide an income certificate stating the total amount received
by the trainee, confirming that tax and social security payments have not
been paid by Frontex.

7. Unpaid traineeships
Frontex may accept, by way of exception, unpaid traineeships upon request
from different EU Member States academies, universities or law
enforcement training organisations. This shall apply also in case of requests
related to the coverage of the grant by another institution. Unpaid
traineeship may also be granted to individuals requests whose motivation
to complete a traineeship in Frontex is not in principle directly related to
their professional career path in the future, or serves scientific/training
purposes only.