In the “National Strategy for the Social Dimension” of 2017, one of the goals was set that the number of new students without a traditional Matura should increase to 5,300 by 2025. In fact, there was even a decline in the number of new students taking university entrance examinations, vocational qualification examinations or external diplomas. According to the most current available data (academic year 2021/22), there were recently just under 3,300 first-year students with “non-traditional access” (8.5 percent of first-year students), shows the answer to a parliamentary question from the SPÖ by Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP). That is significantly fewer than 2017 with 3,900 (9.7 percent).
According to the type of university, by far the most atypical study qualifications are at the universities of applied sciences (FH) with 13.2 percent, at the teacher training colleges (PH) responsible for teacher training there are 8.5 and at the universities, which still accounts for three quarters of all Students account for 5.3 percent. Nine out of ten of the students with “non-traditional” access have completed a vocational maturity examination, i.e. have completed their vocational maturity examination in addition to a job or apprenticeship (vocational baccalaureate).
SPÖ: Strategy failed
Whether the strategy started by the then Science Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner (ÖVP) in the red-black coalition will be continued following 2025 will be decided following the evaluation planned for this year. In any case, the strategy has already failed for the SPÖ.
SPÖ Federal Council parliamentary group leader Korinna Schumann sees the figures as evidence that the education system in Austria is not open enough to apprentices. Without opportunities for further development and prospects, young people would not decide on teaching, Schumann said in a written statement to the APA.
There is room for improvement with the “apprenticeship with Matura”
She also sees room for improvement when it comes to “apprenticeships with a Matura”: Although the funding for the vocational Matura was recently increased by 1.53 million to 13.93 million euros, this is “more of an inflation adjustment”. According to figures from the Ministry of Education, 13,000 apprentices are currently taking part in the model, in which young people attend free preparatory courses during their apprenticeship and take three of the four partial exams before the final apprenticeship exam.
Further training following completing their apprenticeship is also expensive for specialists because they have to pay for the vocational qualification test and the university entrance qualification test themselves. Outside of universities, there were often only private offers.
