The Eurydysée Programme, an initiative of the Assembly of European Regions which aims to promote the exchange of youngsters from different European regions through a traineeship, is now subject to new rules in the Azores.

A Legislative Order secretary of the Regional Secretary for Labour and Social Security, published in the Official Journal on Tuesday, approves the new rules of that programme, which is addressed at youngsters from the participant European regions, aged between 18 and 30 years.

The Eurodyssée programme has been applied in the region in recent years through the Legislative Order no. 2/2006 of 26 January, but the Government considers that making some changes is necessary in order “to improve the organisational solutions, especially with regard to the attendance control of young trainees as well as to the updating of the scholarships awarded to youngsters.

The Eurodyssée programme is promoted in the Azores by the Regional Secretariat for Labour and Social Security, through the Regional Directorate for Labour, Vocational Training and Consumer Defence.

The programme aims to promote the exchange of youngsters from the other participant regions, thus providing them with a traineeship in public and private entities of the Azores as well as the participation of Azorean youngsters in traineeships promoted by the coordinating entities of the Eurodyssée programme in other European regions.

The traineeships in the Azores are held for a minimum period of five month and for a maximum period of six months. They also include the learning of the Portuguese language, culture and the socio-economic reality of the Azores.

The maximum number of Azorean youngsters to be admitted in traineeships in other participant regions as well as the maximum number of youngsters from European other regions to be admitted in traineeships in the Azores are annually stipulated by an order of the Regional Directorate for Labour, Vocational Training and Consumer Defence.