QUEEN Project
Project summary
QUEEN aims to empower youth and adults with quality apprenticeships that adapt to evolving labour markets, fostering inclusive, sustainable career pathways for all.
Apprenticeships are a powerful bridge between education and employment, providing young people with real job opportunities and helping adults upskill or reskill for today’s evolving job market. But how do we ensure these apprenticeships offer real quality and long-term benefits?
In 2018, the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (EFQEA) set 14 key criteria to guarantee strong, effective apprenticeship programs. However, putting these criteria into practice isn’t always easy. Different regions have different levels of support, and challenges remain, such as:
✅ Creating clearer, more flexible quality standards.
✅ Strengthening collaboration with social and industry partners.
✅ Encouraging people from all backgrounds and genders to see apprenticeships as a viable career path.
At the same time, apprenticeships must keep up with global trends—like digitalization and sustainable development—to remain relevant in an ever-changing economy.
What is QUEEN?
The QUEEN project is here to make a difference! Our goal is to help young people and adults access better job opportunities by improving apprenticeship policies across Europe. Through collaboration between EU and Candidate countries, we are:
🔎 Defining what makes a Quality Apprenticeship and tracking progress in different regions.
🏆 Highlighting success stories that can inspire and guide policymakers.
🚀 Driving change by designing, implementing, and monitoring better apprenticeship policies.
By working together, we can shape the future of apprenticeships—ensuring they provide real opportunities for individuals and lasting societal benefits. Join us on this journey!
Learn more about QUEEN
Download Queen poster.
What will this project change
QUEEN is driving policy improvements by expanding the use of apprenticeships, integrating quality-enhancing measures, and strengthening governance at local and regional levels. This leads to a significant impact, with a stronger capacity to implement EFQEA criteria, a positive shift in apprenticeship adoption, and better employment outcomes for individuals across the region.
A few numbers
1,899,606 € budget
01 May 2025-31 Jul 2029
9 partners
QUEEN Project Kicks Off in Siena
The QUEEN project will officially launch on 11–12 June 2025 in Siena, Italy, marking the beginning of a collaborative journey to enhance the quality and impact of apprenticeships across Europe.
First QUEEN project stakeholders meeting
Today, we held at iTlent the first Interreg QUEEN project stakeholders meeting.
Second meeting of the QUEEN project partners in the Basque Country
The second partner meeting of the QUEEN project took place on 26–27 November 2025 in San Sebastian, the Basque Country. The meeting brought together project partners and local stakeholders.