Viennese Companies Train Almost 15,000 Apprentices
Trade and crafts make up a third of the largest sector in vocational training. The areas of information technology, metal technology, body construction technology, refrigeration plant technology, civil engineering and event technology showed a particularly strong increase in the number of apprentices. In Austria, about 102,000 apprentices are being trained. Around 28,000 companies are training future skilled workers in 230 training professions.
More Apprentices but Fewer Open Apprenticeships
For apprentices, there have certainly been better times than currently. The number of immediately available open apprenticeships fell by 16.9 percent in December 2024 compared to the previous year. The number of seekers, on the other hand, has increased by over 20 percent. According to a study recently presented on behalf of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), there is a need for reform in apprenticeships. IV President Georg Knill recently called for a "quality boost" in vocational schools and pointed to increasing dissatisfaction among training companies with the skills that apprentices bring from school.
According to the Chamber of Labour, there is also a need for action on the part of the economy, which would invest too little in apprenticeships. The Chamber calculated in November of the previous year that there were 120,579 apprentices in 2013, currently there are 102,000. Current figures from Statistics Austria show how important an apprenticeship is compared to no further education after compulsory schooling: While 51 percent of those who complete an apprenticeship are still with the same company two years later, this is only the case for eight percent of compulsory school graduates.
"Speed Dating" for Apprentices with the Chamber of Commerce
In order to get more people into apprenticeships, the Vienna Chamber of Commerce is again organising an "Apprenticeship Speed Dating". 200 companies will meet 1,300 Vienna pupils over four days. Last year, the Speed Dating was able to place 212 apprenticeships, the Vienna Chamber of Commerce announced on Tuesday. Apprenticeships rarely make it into the public eye, most recently this was the case in the discussion about the introduction of a vegetarian/vegan cooking apprenticeship. It will now start on 1 July 2025 and, like the "normal" cooking apprenticeship, will last three years.
Statistics Austria has just surveyed the career prospects of vocational middle schools (BMS) and drawn the following conclusion: "Completing a BMS is associated with a rapid entry into the job market and a stable career path." After taking up a first job, 69 percent of BMS graduates keep this job for at least one year. For apprenticeships, it's 64 percent. The value is particularly low for AHS graduates, where only half are still working in the job they originally started.
And what about the salary account? "Over the entire observation period, the gross median income from dependent employment 18 months after a BMS graduation is 2,389 euros per month. Graduates of an apprenticeship receive 2,615 euros", according to Statistics Austria. Those who have completed a vocational higher school start their career with 2,579 euros.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.