Private companies, universities, and students met at the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in Barcelona on 13 July to review a project working to enhance the opportunities for internships in the Mediterranean region – seen as a win-win opportunity for business development and youth employability.

One of the main causes of unemployment among young graduates in the region is the persistent mismatch between the skills acquired at university and the requirements of employers.

With the goal of helping companies identify the best young talents and strengthening academic and professional mobility in the region, the UfM has labelled the HOMERe project, a programme working through international traineeships to increase the employability of students from more than 100 top universities members of the Mediterranean Network of Engineering Schools.

So far, 125 young people from the Northern and the Southern rims of the Mediterranean have benefitted from HOMERe.

On 13 July, the UfM Secretariat gathered relevant stakeholders to discuss the opportunities and challenges related to the expansion of internships in the region and the specific role of the private sector. The workshop – titled ‘Boosting employability in the region: which role for internships? Lessons learnt and future perspectives of HOMERe UfM labelled project’ – allowed students, enterprises, civil society organisations and higher education institutions to formulate recommendations for the development of international training programmes in the region.

“This programme really helps young people to change their attitude towards work to a more pro-active approach and helps companies to identify high-quality candidates. It was also a key accelerator of my early career development,” said one former HOMERe intern beneficiary, Youssef Berdoul.

Delphine Borione, Senior Deputy Secretary General of the UfM, stated “international internships are a win-win investment for both companies which get access to talented students and knowledge on local markets and culture, and for young people who gain new perspectives and competencies.“

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Press release

Project Snapshot

HOMERe leaflet