Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142) - Austria (Ratification: 1979)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Federal Chamber of Labour (BAK), transmitted together with the Government’s report. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

Articles 1, 2 and 5 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of education and training policies. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report. It notes with interest the different labour market policy funding instruments described by the Government. These instruments include: (1) the Labour Foundations (Arbeitsstiftungen, AST), that support both workers threatened by unemployment and unemployed persons through the provision of qualifications, education and training, and career guidance; (2) the amendments to training measures, that provide for the gradual introduction of a skills-based approach for all training courses offered by the Public Employment Service; (3) the in-work training subsidy (QBN), where the Public Employment Service funds the costs of further training for poorly qualified and older workers in order to integrate these more thoroughly into in-company further training activities; (4) the Stimulus Advice for Companies (Impulsberatung für Betriebe, IBB), which supports companies in tackling specific organizational development issues; (5) the Impulse Qualification Network (Impuls-Qualifizierungsbund, IQV), a network of several companies who work together to plan and carry out custom-tailored qualification measures for their workers; (6) the funding for increasing worker skills in the areas of social services of general interest (SSGI), which funds the costs of training workers in the areas of health and social systems, elementary pedagogy and refugee support; and (7) the Business Start-up Programme (Unternehmensgründungsprogramm, UGP), which supports unemployed persons in taking up self-employment or founding a company. The Committee notes that the European Centre for the development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), includes among Austria’s challenges: (1) that Austria currently has the highest job vacancy rate in the EU, which almost double the EU average; and (2) that disadvantaged groups are less integrated in the education and labour market system (CEDEFOP, Vocational education and training, Policy briefs Austria, 2023, p. 5). In its observations, the BAK states that Austria has a large number of self-contained systems (at federal and state level, measures within and outside schools), which are managed by various different responsible ministries and authorities, and scarcely permit transparency and networking. The BAK considers that Austria needs a modular and integrated structure for its vocational training system and an increased system of recognition of skills. The BAK further states that despite existing political ambitions − like, for example, the Austrian Lifelong Learning Strategy (LLL:2020) passed in July 2011 − there is a lack of consistency when it comes to practical implementation and a lack of persistent adherence to the steps taken and the goals set. In view of the above,the Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on the observations made by the BAK and to indicate measures taken to enhance coordination between federal and state-level actors, and between school-based and labour-market-based training systems. The Government is also requested to indicate how the skills-based approach now being introduced across training courses is contributing to employability and job retention. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on consultations held with employers’ and workers’ organizations and other interested bodies concerning the formulation, implementation and monitoring of vocational-guidance and training policies, in line with Article 5 of the Convention.

Articles 1(5) and 3. Equality of opportunity. The Committee notes that many of the programmes and reforms adopted by the Government are addressed to face the challenges met by persons in disadvantaged groups, such as young persons, women, and migrants. The Committee also notes that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in its concluding observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of Austria, expressed concerns, inter alia, about: (i) the comparatively low rate of participation in the workforce of persons with disabilities, the low employment rate of persons with disabilities on the open labour market and the increasingly high rate of long-term unemployment among persons with disabilities; and (ii) the lack of inclusive vocational orientation and training for persons with disabilities, in particular young persons with disabilities (document CRPD/C/AUT/CO/2-3, dated 28 September 2023, para. 63). The Committee further notes that the BAK considers that Austria still has tremendous potential to utilize and further develop its workforce, particularly that related to workers with migration backgrounds. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated, detailed information, including sex- and age-disaggregated data, on the nature, scope and impact of measures to expand access to education, training and lifelong learning for persons with disabilities, migrants, women, youth and other disadvantaged groups. Please indicate how these measures promote equality of opportunity and outcomes, particularly regarding entry into and retention in decent and sustainable employment.

Article 4. Vocational training of young persons and adults. The Committee notes with interest the different measures adopted by the Government addressed to young persons. The Government indicates that with the “AusBildung bis 18” (“Education until 18”) initiative, the Federal Government has successfully implemented an ambitious and comprehensive reform programme to cover the transition from compulsory schooling to the further education and training system. The aim of the initiative is for all 18-year-olds to, where possible, complete an apprenticeship over and above their compulsory schooling, and thus to reduce the number of young persons dropping out of school and in unemployment. The Government further indicates that since 1 July 2017, young persons in Austria must, pursuant to the Compulsory Training Act (Ausbildungspflichtgesetz, Federal Law Gazette No. 62/2016 as amended by Federal Law Gazette I No. 32/2018) complete a course of further education or training following their compulsory schooling. The Government adds that in July 2015, the Federal Law Gazette No. 78/2015 introduced a series of amendments that modernized the Vocational Training Act (Berufsausbildungsgesetz, BAG). The Committee also notes with interest other specific measures addressed to young people, which include: (1) the Jugendcoaching (youth coaching), which provides advice, assistance and personal support to students in their final year of compulsory school and to non-students up to the age of 19; (2) the AusbildungsFit (Ready for Education and Training, AFit) initiative, aimed at those young persons who, upon completion of their school education, need additional time and support to prepare for initial vocational training; and (3) that every young person who cannot be placed in an in-company apprenticeship position in a company is guaranteed a place in a supra-company training institution. The BAK observes that there was an increase (compared to the EU average) in Austria’s numbers of Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) youth (15 to 24-year-olds) and of 18 to 24-year-olds leaving school and training early, and there is an urgent need for action. There is also a high percentage (around 26 per cent) of apprenticeships concluded without a qualification being achieved. The BAK further considers that Austria urgently needs an expansion of social space−oriented, proactive youth work and a rapid expansion of free psychological and psychotherapeutic offerings for young persons and young adults. In light of these challenges, the Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on the BAK’s observations and to indicate measures taken or envisaged to: (i) reduce the proportion of NEET youth and early school-leavers; (ii) improve completion rates in apprenticeships; and (iii) expand access to youth-oriented counselling and psychological support. The Committee also requests updated information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the participation and labour-market outcomes of young persons and adults benefiting from vocational-training and lifelong-learning programmes, as well as on the mechanisms used to evaluate their effectiveness and relevance to labour-market needs.