IV on “Education at a glance”: Austria’s vocational training is top, there is a need to catch up in basic education

2023-09-12 12:15:04

A high proportion of vocational qualifications guarantees location and innovation – high-quality basic education forms the foundation for successful vocational training

Vienna (OTS) – “We can be proud of vocational training,” says Christian Friesl, Head of Education and Society at the Federation of Industrialists (IV), summarizing the findings from the OECD report “Education at a Glance” presented today. With almost 54 percent of 25-34 year olds with the highest level of vocational training, Austria is a world leader in this area. The apprenticeship training and the HTL in particular provide optimal preparation for a career path that is meaningful and offers attractive development and salary prospects. “Last but not least, the high proportion of people with a vocationally oriented educational qualification is the basis for securing Austria as a location in the long term and overcoming challenges such as a shortage of skilled workers and climate change,” Friesl continued.

With its training companies, as a supporter of the HTL and as a technological innovation driver, the industry makes important contributions to the high vocational training and employment rates in Austria. The interaction of vocational training and an attractive tertiary sector is also a key factor for future-oriented skills development: “Apprenticeships and technical colleges, technical colleges and universities and, last but not least, the planned higher vocational education are an overall package that lays the basis for Austria’s potential of skilled workers and highly qualified people.” . There is therefore a need for good educational and career orientation at all types of schools, which specifically increases interest in training and studies that are particularly relevant to the labor market.

“Overall, anyone who has reached secondary level II has made it,” Friesl continued. “However, what is worrying is the 10.5 percent of young people who are neither in training nor in employment. In the Netherlands it is only 4.1 percent. “That must also be the target for Austria,” emphasizes the division manager. A key measure for this is improving basic education: “Almost 40 percent of students leave compulsory school with inadequate knowledge of German, mathematics and English. These weaknesses often accompany them throughout their entire lives, both professionally and privately. This is a systemic problem that urgently needs to be addressed by comprehensive reforms in compulsory education.”

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