Press Release: EU officials to do fieldwork in SMEs

EU officials will be leaving Brussels and their desks behind to spend one week gaining hands-on experience of life in a small or medium sized enterprise (SME) in various companies throughout Europe. 'Enterprise Experience’ is designed to give officials experience of the daily operations of European firms and so improve their understanding of the business environment in which these companies operate. The first wave of 50 officials will go to companies in Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. The aim over a two year period, is to send trainees to countries across the EU, to ensure a balanced geographical coverage. The officials will work in SMEs from sectors such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, restaurants/hotels, information technologies, machinery, chemicals and textiles, shadowing key personnel and gaining experience in various departments of the company. After a successful pilot phase in 2005/early 2006, (IP/06/996) the European Commission is formally launching the first wave of this programme on 6 November 2006.