Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food - Becas de formación práctica para titulados universitarios – área Industria Alimentaria (MAPA)

What you get

You get 1,150 EUR gross per month for practical training at Spain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), in its food industry area. The grant runs for up to 12 months from your start date and can be extended up to three times, so it may last several years. You are enrolled in Spain's general social security system from day one and get 22 working days of rest per full year. You may get extra money for work trips, plus up to 300 EUR towards fees for extra courses. This is training, not a job, so the money counts as a training grant, not a salary. You work on real tasks such as lab analysis of food products, quality-control checks, market and consumption studies, EU registration of protected designations of origin, and the national food-waste strategy. At the end you receive a certificate of your training, useful for your CV.

Who can apply

• Degree: You hold a university degree, or you can obtain it by the application deadline. This includes a grado, diploma, licenciatura, master, technical or higher engineering degree, doctorate or equivalent. A foreign degree must be officially recognised in Spain.
• Field of study: Your degree is in an accepted area, for example agricultural engineering, veterinary science, food science and technology, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, pharmacy, environmental science, statistics, computing, law, economics, business, journalism or public relations.
• Recent graduate: You finished your studies within the six years before the call is published.
• Nationality: You are Spanish, or a national of an EU or EEA country legally resident in Spain.
• Spanish language: You speak Spanish well. If you are not Spanish or Latin American and have lived in Spain under two years, you must prove at least B1 level.
• First time: You have not held this grant before, in any form.

How to apply

You apply online through MAPA's electronic office within 15 days of the call being published in the official state gazette (BOE). Selection has two stages. First, your academic record, languages, extra training and experience are scored. If you pass, you go to a second round with a 10-minute oral presentation of your own work and a personal interview.

How realistic are your chances?

This grant is limited to specific degree fields, recent graduates and residents of Spain, so the eligible pool is small. If you clearly fit those fields and have strong grades plus relevant experience, your prospects in the scoring stage are solid. Note, however, that the food industry area has not had a call since 2018, so a new round may not be open when you look.