The number of scholarship recipients in Spain was unknown. Without an official or state registry, the unions warned that they could only know how many students did paid internships thanks to the Social Security contribution records. Until 2024, when the Government expanded the right to contribute to interns who do not charge for their internships. In total, almost one million students have completed unpaid internships over the past year. Specifically, 944,547 people, Social Security reported this Thursday.
The Ministry has offered complete data on how many students did internships throughout last year, the first most complete snapshot of how many scholarship recipients there are in the country. In total, around 1.2 million young people in 2024, of which 80% did not charge anything for their internships.
On the one hand, there are the “close to 250,000 people registered with Social Security for carrying out paid internships” in 2024. These students, who receive a financial payment for carrying out their non-work internships, have had the right to contribute since 2011.
On the other hand, Social Security has revealed the other side of the coin, unknown until the contribution right was generated: how many young people receive unpaid scholarships. They are the vast majority, 944,547 young people who have “been registered and, therefore, have contributed at least one day to Social Security in this first year,” explains the department headed by Elma Saiz.
This group does not count in the general employment data offered by Social Security, “that is, they are not counted in the 21.3 million Social Security affiliates with whom the year ended,” the Ministry specifies.
“It is good news that for the first time, finally, we know how many people do internships,” highlights Adrià Junyent, Youth Secretary of CCOO, who nevertheless specifies that the union is analyzing this data, which is still very incipient. On the one hand, they celebrate that there are already numbers of scholarship recipients in all the Autonomous Communities, something that was not the case at the beginning of the year, which is why they consider that the regulations are already being followed throughout the country.
Social Security indicates that, by Autonomous Communities, Catalonia is where the highest number of students in unpaid internships were registered (185,368), followed by the Community of Madrid (170,028), Andalusia (135,827) and the Valencian Community (109,863).
However, at CCOO they are observing some “strange data”, for example on the days paid per month by students, which they consider should be analyzed for “whether there is a lack of high or poor quality of the internships”, explains Junyent.
Eduardo Magaldi, head of the youth organization RUGE-UGT, also celebrates that “thanks to this quote we will have the data of how many scholarship recipients do internships per year, a claim that we demand from the Government through a Registry of internships.”
Magaldi points out that the claim “is partially covered” because a registry would allow for “more detailed data on the types of practices, durations, etc.”, but at least it has been possible to “know exactly how many people we are talking about when we address this issue.” and how many of them, furthermore, are still without remuneration.”
Accident coverage and retirement rights
The right to contribute for scholarship recipients who do not earn money means that “they begin to generate rights in the system,” highlights Social Security. For example, this internship time will be recognized as contributions towards their future retirement pension. A situation that is not trivial in a context in which many young people find it difficult to enter the job market. And, sometimes, the internship stage is not short, with numerous months of scholarships completed.
Furthermore, contributing to Social Security offers them coverage in the event of a work accident, highlights Adrià Junyent, “something very important.” For example, between October and December, there were 53 students protected for sick leave due to work accidents, according to data managed by the union communicated by Social Security.
On the other hand, scholarship recipients do not contribute to unemployment protection, coverage by the Salary Guarantee Fund (FOGASA) or the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI), for the pension fund. And, “in the case of unpaid internships, protection for temporary disability benefits derived from common contingencies” is also excluded, the common sick leave, reminds Social Security.
The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, has highlighted that the registration of students on unpaid internships in Social Security was one of the most important developments of 2024. “It represents an extension of rights for the youngest, fundamentally. They are the future of the system and must be part of it from the beginning of their working career,” he stressed.
95% is paid by the State and “without hecatomb” of the scholarships
Social Security recalls that the contribution of unpaid interns “has a large bonus in Social Security contributions that reaches a 95% reduction in the contribution for common contingencies.” In the case of Vocational Training students, State coverage reaches 100%, as agreed by the Ministry of Education.
The contribution of scholarship holders generated enormous resistance in the university sector, as did the still-pending Scholarship Statute that recognizes other rights for intern students, such as vacations and minimum compensation. The CRUE (Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities) warned that the internship system was put at risk and that, if companies had to pay for students, many would reject this practical training option.
However, after this first year of application, from the CRUE They recognized El País that the system is working “well”. The rectors of the universities maintain, however, that this good performance is explained because it is the universities and educational centers that are mostly assuming the payment of 5% of the internships, instead of the companies.
“There has not been any disaster in the practices, as was said. Just as it happened with the minimum wage and with the reduction of temporary employment, the apocalypse was approaching for not approving these rights and, when they were put in place, they worked well,” says Adrià Junyent.
The head of RUGE at UGT agrees. “There has been no debacle after its implementation and it adds to the long list of proposed advances that, after a process of catastrophists launching negative ideas to prevent its implementation, then what they predicted has never happened: job destruction with the increase in the minimum wage, closure of companies with the labor reform, hundreds of companies fleeing from universities if we made them contribute…. None of this has happened, on the contrary, the data is improving.”
The youth managers of both unions trust that this good experience with the contribution will facilitate the approval of the Scholarship Statute, agreed upon by Labor and the majority unions last term and still without going through the Council of Ministers. “Leave those in absolute discredit.” lobby university students who announce catastrophes in order to remain immobile,” Magaldi criticizes. Junyent asks the rectors to, instead of trying to paralyze these new rights, as they did with Social Security coverage, “think about how it can be done.”
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