Sara Rizzotti is one of many young people who benefited from the EURES TMS work mobility programme to complete a traineeship.

The school, the university, the first work experience

In 2020, she held a degree in public relations, communication, and marketing. Sara describes her educational journey as follows: “After high school, I decided to attend university, and in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, I received my bachelor’s degree in public relations. A degree that provides several inputs and skills, ranging from communication to marketing to languages.

After graduating, I decided to attend a postgraduate course in social media marketing. It was immediately clear to me that this was the area that caught my interest; I wanted to improve my knowledge in this area.”

The next steps

Sara began looking for a traineeship tobegin her career after completing the course. Her search started from Alma Laurea, a web platform designed for students and graduates, where she discovered a number of interesting traineeship opportunities, including one with the companywhere she would have been worked.

The company, registered on our new platform, introduced Sara to the EURES TMS programme. “After learning about the EURES TMS project, I began conducting some research. I wanted to learn moreabout the project and the opportunities and benefits provided. So I contacted the EURES Advisers in my region (Friuli Venezia Giulia) and I attended a few sessions to learn more about the EURES TMS. After these meetings, I realized that this traineeship through EURES TMS was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Following the selection phase and interviews, and after being hired as a trainee, I immediately applied for the relocation, which has been essential for leaving Italy and starting my digital marketing traineeship in Barcelona.

Departure and traineeship

Sara started her first mobility adventure, and Barcelona appeared to be the right place. “A vibrant, young city in which to grow both personally and professionally. When I arrived at the workplace, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was not the only trainee, but that there were other profiles similar to mine and other jobseekers from Italy.

The company in which I did the traineeship was Spanish, but it was divided into different departments (Italian, French, and Spanish). There were several Italians, mostly trainees, in the department where I was assigned; some were there through the Erasmus programme, while others were through the EURES programme.”

Sara is very happy with her traineeship experience. She describes it as a real training and future job opportunity. In addition to services and benefits, EURES TMS is, in fact, also a guarantee of the quality of the experience. As we said, Sara benefited from a relocation allowance and, moreover, as a Friuli Venezia Giulia resident, she was also eligible for a flat-rate mobility allowance and an active labour policy tool (ALMP – traineeships and apprenticeships).

“I felt comfortable, I immediately found a supportive atmosphere, aided by the fact that the office was full of peers from different cultures. My company tutor was Italian too and he was mainly in charge of coordinating the trainees. The work program was well structured. I started by learning some activities and as I gained experience, I moved on to do new activities. A nice atmosphere in which learning many things and grow up.” Activities and experiences helped her get a new career when she returned to Italy.

The language

EURES TMS not only adds professional mobility experience to your CV, but it is also helpful to your personal growth in many ways. One of the most important is the linguistic one: “I worked in an office with many Italians, however, I wanted to improve the Spanish language even if I had studied it before. This mobility experience gave me the opportunity to live the language. Studying a language is not like speaking it in everyday life.”

Future prospects

We asked Sara to use three words to describe her experience with EURES TMS: “It was certainly a dynamic, enriching, and growing experience. Work mobility is an opportunity that I really recommend to everyone, especially my peers. EURES TMS gives you guarantees that are not always easy to find. Meeting people from all around the European Union means expanding one’s cultural and personal experience in an international context.” About her future, she tells us: “I promised myself that if I couldn’t find work within a few months of my return, I would have started a new mobility experience. Finally, thanks to the traineeship in Barcelona, I found a job and I am very happy about it. The traineeship offered by EURES TMS has been a key element in my CV, and is still very useful to me.”

We say goodbye to Sara and wish her to continue being so curious! Europe is waiting for her!

The traineeship offered by EURES TMS has been a key element in my CV, and still very useful to me.