Since January 1, 2024, students who perform unpaid training practices are included in the Social Security system. This measure has allowed a total of 20,612 young people in La Rioja in this situation, 944,547 in Spain, to have been discharged and, therefore, has been paid for them at least one day in the Social Security in this first year. This group does not compute in the general data of affiliation, that is, they are not counted in the 21.3 million Social Security affiliates with which the year ended.
With this measure, all university and vocational students who carry out training practices or external academic practices (remunerated or not) included in training programs contribute to Social Security. Until now there was only the obligation to register students who carried out paid internships, a measure put in place in 2011.
In this way, the almost one million students in unpaid internships adds to the approximately 250,000 people registered in Social Security for doing paid internships in 2024.
The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, has highlighted that the discharge in Social Security of students in unpaid internships was one of the most important novelties of 2024. “It means 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. During their training practices they have social coverage, protection against diseases or accidents at work, while generating rights for the receipt of future benefits such as retirement,” he explained.
Distribution by province and CCAA regional
By autonomous communities, Catalonia is where the highest number of students in unpaid internships were registered (185,368), followed by Madrid (170,028), Andalusia (135,827) and the Valencian Community (109,863).
By province, Madrid leads the number of graduates of unpaid internships since January 2024 with 170,028, followed by Barcelona with 136,646, Valencia with 69,141, Murcia (35,991) and Seville (32,309).
The practices that are included are:
- Internships carried out by university students, either to obtain an official degree (degree, master’s or doctorate) or for a university degree.
- Practices carried out by vocational training students, provided that they are not provided in the intensive vocational training regime, that is, provided that they are not of a working nature.
- Practices carried out by students of higher artistic teachings, professional artistic teachings and sports teachings of the educational system.
These students can find information about their situation with Social Security both on the portal and in the mobile application Importass, of the General Treasury of Social Security (TGSS), where they have a specific section for trainees with a complete information guide, main news and response to the most usual doubts
In addition, if they identify to access their personal area, they can carry out procedures such as checking the Social Security Number, if they already have it assigned, checking their registration in the Social Security or the report of work life and the report of contribution bases.