Ohlala OUR SERVICES

With over 12 years' experience, we are experts in organising and supporting Erasmus + placements. Ohlala Placements selects and supports passionate young European graduates (or those in training) in their Erasmus + professional mobility project in France and across Europe.

At a time when companies in the sector are having difficulty recruiting, we offer a low-cost alternative (even free for short work placements), enabling them to reduce their costs.

While offering a unique opportunity to continue to develop professionally in France, your company benefits from the full-time work, know-how and enthusiasm of a young professional trained in Europe and eager to prove himself in a new environment. Ohlala Placements offers a win-win solution that benefits everyone involved in the project.

In the case of long placements (post-graduation), this solution can even lead to recruitment, if both the company and the participant so wish.

We work with a network of apprenticeship training centres and vocational colleges across Europe and rigorously select young people who are trained, passionate about their profession and committed to their mobility project. We support them from the outset (language preparation, travel, accommodation) and throughout their experience in France (via regular follow-up meetings) to ensure that each project runs smoothly, both at work and outside (accommodation, social life, financial stability, health). The host company can then concentrate on integrating the participant into its team and training him or her in work techniques.

Each project is unique, and participants' expectations and levels of training may vary. That's why we're always on the lookout for new host companies, equally varied, to meet everyone's needs. We want to work with quality craft businesses that share our values and attach importance to supporting and developing young professionals in their trade.

By working with Ohlala Placements, you are giving these young professionals the opportunity to enjoy a unique experience in France, to perfect their skills and to discover or develop French techniques and specialities. In return, you benefit from their know-how, their full-time work and a fresh perspective. You also bring a breath of fresh air to your team with the addition of talent from European training who are keen to succeed.

Our areas intervention

Short-term Erasmus + in France

(2 to 12 weeks)

The "short" projects are reserved for young professionals in training in their country of origin. This work placement represents a first experience of working abroad and a foretaste of what it might be like to live and work in France. Trainees generally have a minimum of 2 We can help you develop and support individual mobility as well as mobility for groups of up to 12-15 people.

We rely on our partner training establishments across Europe to select the participants. We do, however, ask each participant to send us a full and detailed CV in French and to fill in our "Participant form" so that we can have a precise idea of each participant's profile, background and expectations of the work placement. This enables us to match each participant with a potential host company.

Ohlala Placements assists each participant in preparing his or her project. Prior to the arrival of the participant/group, we organise an information meeting by videoconference to give everyone the essential and most useful information and to emphasise the primarily professional scope of this project. This ensures that everyone arrives with the right frame of mind for the project's future success.

On arrival, there is always a member of our team to welcome the participant/group, whether at the station or the airport.

The project begins with a day of preparation on our premises, to give the trainees as many tools as possible to start the course in good conditions (transport, timetable, good attitude, etc.).

We ensure that all the necessary documents are signed. We also make sure that each participant is covered by civil liability and repatriation insurance (compulsory insurance for taking part in an Erasmus + mobility programme).

Once the placement is over, young people are required to return to their country to complete their training course. However, if their sending organisation has funding for Erasmus Pro placements (post-graduation), they may wish to return for another (longer) placement at the end of their course.

Long-term Erasmus + in France

(young graduates - 3 to 6 months)

The "long" projects are aimed at young people who have completed their training and have just graduated in their country of origin. This internship is a real experience of full-time work and life abroad. Interns have a minimum of 2-3 years of training in their field, and this can extend to 5-6 years. In the case of long placements, since the participants are already graduates and citizens of the European Union, they can easily be taken on (at no extra cost) following the placement if this option is considered by everyone.

A pre-selection is made by the sending organisation. Ohlala Placements then interviews each candidate individually. This enables us to assess the candidate's personality, maturity, passion for the job, resilience and level of French and/or English. It also helps us to find out more about the participant's professional experience and expectations of the project. With all these elements in hand, we can identify the best possible host company for each participant and tailor the experience as closely as possible to their needs/aspirations. These projects are difficult, which is why we have to be rigorous in our selection of participants, to maximise the chances of success.

We support participants in their search for accommodation and ensure that everyone finds suitable accommodation. The aim is to find accommodation close to the host company or within easy reach of it by public transport. If possible, we give preference to accommodation provided by the host company. If this is not the case, we try to accommodate participants in shared accommodation or with a host family. We believe that this is the best way for them to immerse themselves in French culture, meet people and rapidly improve their language skills.

As soon as their selection is announced, we encourage and recommend ways for the future participant to work on their French as much as possible. This will have a major impact on the start of the project. Before the participant arrives, we organise a video-conference meeting to give everyone the most useful information about the project. The aim is to give practical details about the arrival, set out our rules and expectations and the project programme. It's also an ideal opportunity for us to answer any questions participants may have. Before this meeting, we also help participants to choose the most appropriate means and route to get to France.

On arrival, there is always a member of our team on hand to greet the participant, whether at the station or the airport.

The first week of the project takes place on our premises. This is an opportunity to brush up on the basics of French and do some career coaching. We also make sure that everyone has all the tools they need to start their placement (transport, timetable, good attitude) and answer any last-minute questions. The aim of this week of preparation is for everyone to get their bearings, be well prepared and equipped for their professional introduction, and ready to start their placement with full confidence in themselves and their abilities.

During the first 3 months of the course, we organise physical (or video) follow-up meetings with each participant (outside working hours) every 2-3 weeks. These meetings cover a wide range of topics (work, progress, language, accommodation, social life, finances, etc.). The aim of these meetings is to identify any potential difficulties and quickly put in place appropriate solutions to overcome them. If all goes well, we encourage participants to do more to get the most out of their experience in France.

Thereafter, we want to give more autonomy to each participant and meet with them once a month. However, if there are any questions, needs or emergencies, we are always available to support participants.

We are also in regular contact (once a month in person and by telephone/visio) with host companies to assess participants' progress and identify any problems/difficulties that may arise in the workplace. If necessary, we organise a mediation meeting to discuss and find solutions to any difficulties encountered in the workplace.

Preparatory visits sending organisations

Our partner training organisations across Europe have funding to organise preparatory visits to projects. These visits enable them to ensure that all the conditions are in place to welcome their students or young graduates. We regularly welcome individuals or small delegations to show them our services and the host companies in which we place their Erasmus + trainees. This is an opportunity for them to see for themselves the seriousness and quality of the follow-up offered by Ohlala Placements, as well as the quality of the placement companies and experiences proposed.

Erasmus + internships (short & long) across Europe

We have over 10 years' experience in developing Erasmus + placements in Europe. If you are a training organisation with access to Erasmus + funding and you need help to develop placements abroad, we can help. We can find you quality host companies in countries where you don't necessarily have an intermediary partner on the ground.

However, for all the countries where we do not have a physical presence (outside France), we cannot offer the same level of monitoring and support (except for certain countries where we ourselves may have an intermediary partner organisation on site).

In this context, our services are limited to identifying the host company, helping to sign all the necessary documents and providing remote monitoring.

In order to carry out the search in the best possible conditions, we need a CV and detailed profile of the candidate, and we need to talk to him/her in order to better understand his/her project and expectations, and thus be in a better position to identify a company that matches this project.

For placements in Europe, our services are invoiced to the sending organisation.

Erasmus + short-term 350 €
Long Erasmus Pro internships 500 €

QuestionsAnswers

All participants have a minimum of 2 to 3 years' professional training in their field. But some have as much as 5 or 6 years. Some will have gone through the apprenticeship system, others not. As the level of teaching is not standardised across Europe, trainees will have received different training depending on their country of origin, and therefore partly different from French training. You will therefore need to allow some time for adaptation at the start of the course.

We ask our partner host companies to trust us when it comes to selecting participants. We are experts in this field. Prior to each collaboration, we take the time to understand your needs and expectations regarding a future trainee. We use this information to find the person who best matches your company and your needs. We also make sure that the type of placement you offer matches the trainee's wishes and expectations.

No, for short placements of less than 2 months. However, if the placement lasts longer than 2 months (or 308 hours of actual work), French law requires the host company to pay the trainee the minimum bonus in force. Trainees remain covered by the social security system in their country of origin and are also entitled to an Erasmus + grant to cover their expenses and live adequately during their period of mobility.

This is not compulsory. However, if you have an accommodation solution, we prefer this option to make things easier for the participant. If this is not the case, we will accompany the participant in their search for accommodation to ensure that they find a decent place close to their work for the duration of their placement.

The level of French can vary greatly. This is not our main selection criterion. After all, how could we ask someone who has never lived in France to already speak our language perfectly? Our selection is based above all on personality, motivation and feasibility of the project, passion for the job and experience in the field. If participants have the right personality and desire, they will quickly learn French. Each participant has a few language lessons to learn/review the basics before the start of the placement. In the company, the best way to communicate is for participants to demonstrate their professional ability and reproduce the gestures explained/demonstrated by their tutor.

The length of placements varies according to the trainee's status (trainee or graduate) and the choices made by the sending organisations. Short placements last from 2 to 8 weeks and long placements from 3 to 12 months. It is in everyone's interest for placements to be as long as possible. However, some sending organisations limit the length of placements to allow more young people to benefit.

Yes, for placements of more than 2 months. We charge for our services in developing projects, selecting candidates, preparing them and providing support before and during the placement.

For short placements (less than 2 months) we invoice our services to the sending organisations only.

Participants never have to pay for our services. The fact that our services are free for participants is one of our founding principles.

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