Why is Erasmus a real springboard for working life?

Why is Erasmus a real springboard for working life?
Erasmus: a real springboard for working life
The context of globalization is pushing more and more students to continue their studies or to do an internship abroad. The Erasmus program opens up the prospect of an interesting and rewarding career. The European Union has just released the results of a recent study on the impact of this program on youth employment.

The Erasmus program

First set up in 1987, Erasmus (European Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) is an exchange program for students and teachers between many universities and grandes écoles in Europe. This name is directly inspired by Erasmus, the famous Dutch theologian and humanist who traveled all over Europe for several years, enriching himself through contact with the different cultures of the countries visited. Under the Erasmus program, students have the opportunity to study or work abroad for a period of 3 to 12 months.

The initial budget for the Erasmus program for the period 1987-1989 was ECU 85 million (the euro did not yet exist at the time, the ECU was the European unit of account). It amounts to 3.1 billion euros for 2007 to 2013 and will reach 19 billion euros for the period 2014-2020 through the Erasmus + program.

Along with the budget, the number of program participants has also increased over the years. While in 1987-1988, 3,244 students benefited from the exchange program, they numbered 252,827 for the period 2011-2012.

Likewise, the number of courses fluctuated for these same periods, going from 7,797 to 33,318. Thanks to this program, around 3 million students from all over Europe, including 380,000 French, were able to enrich their skills. academic and linguistic while living a multicultural experience.

Benefits on employment

Erasmus is an ideal springboard for professional life. Indeed, according to this impact study carried out by the European Union, young people who participated in the program are half as likely to become long-term unemployed. They are less than 23% to remain unemployed, five years after the end of their studies.

The internship through Erasmus also represents an opening opportunity for students. A third of them are recruited by their host company while 10% of these interns have created their own company. Of the rest, 75% plan to do so in the future.

Erasmus differs from WHV in the sense that tourism is the main objective of the WHV worker who can only work to support himself. Moreover, the Working Holiday Program only allows access to 9 countries (Argentina, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and soon Brasil).

Global openness

The Erasmus program opens the doors for students to 28 countries of the European Union, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey, North Macedonia and Serbia.

It also brings a certain openness to the participants. Since love has no borders, 27% of Erasmus students have met their spouse or partner during their stay in a foreign country. Even more eloquent, 33% now share their life with someone of a different nationality, compared to only 13% for non-mobile students.

With a goal similar to VIE, Erasmus also opens up the prospect of expatriation. After graduating, 40% of the program’s alumni moved abroad. On the other hand, the percentage of those who think they will not have any difficulties moving abroad in the future is 93%.

While 85% of Erasmus students believe that the program improves their chances of being hired, the assurance of finding a job is not its only positive impact.

Indeed, Erasmus also offers students the opportunity to adopt an entrepreneurial culture, even if it means moving to a foreign country or staying in the country where they studied or did their internship. Finally, while Erasmus makes it possible to cross borders and language barriers, the program also makes it possible to strengthen links between Europeans. According to the European Union, nearly a million babies have been born to couples reunited by Erasmus since its creation in 1987!