The criteria a host organisation actually uses to place a student with the right company.
Matching starts with what the student is training to do — a hospitality student needs a placement in a hotel or restaurant setting, not an unrelated office role. This sounds obvious, but it's the single most common thing that goes wrong when matching is rushed: a placement that technically exists but doesn't connect to the student's actual qualification.
A gastronomy placement matched to a student's field of study.
Good matching isn't just cross-referencing a list of companies against a list of students — it requires knowing the companies well enough to judge whether a specific student will actually thrive there. That's part of why host organisations based in the destination, with ongoing company relationships, tend to place students more successfully than a purely remote arrangement.
Even careful matching occasionally doesn't work out — a role turns out different from what was described, or personalities don't click. A host organisation with active monitoring during the placement should be able to identify this early and adjust, rather than leaving a student stuck in a poor fit for the full duration.
How the pool of companies is built in the first place.
Read more → VET InternshipsWhat ongoing monitoring during a placement should look like.
Read more → Portugal & LisbonThe sectors where matching options are strongest in Lisbon.
Read more →DNA Europe supports vocational schools in Romania, Italy and Poland with Erasmus+ VET mobility in Lisbon — from the first placement idea to the final report.
