Number of employers offering apprenticeships falls

The number of apprenticeship places offered by Austrian employers has fallen dramatically in recent years, with a new low expected in 2005, despite numerous initiatives aimed at reversing the trend.

Since 1980, the number of employers providing apprenticeship places has declined by 40% (from 194,100 to 119,000 in 2004) and even though the state tries to encourage this mainstay of industrial skill formation, no easing of this problem is in sight (AT0210201N). A further drop to 117,000 is predicted for 2005. Some 7,300 young people were looking for an apprenticeship place in September 2004, the main month for the recruitment of apprentices, but there were only 2,700 apprenticeship places. Adding the school-leavers attending state-financed courses organised by the Business Promotion Institute (Wirtschaftsförderungsinstitut, WIFI) - which is run by the Chamber of the Economy (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKÖ) - and the Vocational Training Institute (Berufsförderungsinstitut, bfi) and at vocational training schools, while waiting for an apprenticeship, the total number of 'missing' places places is 13,776. The state will spend EUR 71 million on this 'safety net' provision in 2005 (AT0303201N).

Developments in the construction industry are giving particular cause for concern. Its share in the total number of apprenticeship places has dropped from 21.4% in 1999 to 16.5% today. According to a labour market expert from the Vienna-based research institute Synthesis, construction companies obviously prefer cheap unskilled workers and hesitate to invest in apprenticeship training. The decline of the number of apprenticeship places in the goods-producing sector is striking as well. In the course of only six years, the industry's share in the total number of apprenticeship places has declined from 21% to 18%. The expert from Synthesis states that this trend will have negative consequences over the medium term. A positive exception is the retail sector, where the tendency is the opposite. This sector has increased its share of apprentices from 28.6% in 1999 to 32% today.

A recent survey by the market research institute Fessel-GfK on the demand for labour finds that, despite high unemployment, the demand for skilled workers is increasing in Austria. Some 67% of the companies with job openings are looking for skilled workers, while 86% of the companies interviewed consider the search for qualified employees difficult.

Labour market experts attribute the shortage of skilled workers to a declining willingness among companies to participate in the 'dual system' of vocational training. There are some initiatives by interest organisations that seek to combat the forthcoming shortage of skilled workers. However, the demographic development of the Austrian population will ease the problems no earlier than 2008.