Basic Information

Objectives

Labour market-oriented training aims at reducing quantitative and qualitative imbalances of supply and demand in the labour market by providing people with vocational skills and know-how as well as personal and social competences. Its main concern is to prepare unemployed people for (re-)entry into the labour market and to enhance their chances for long-term integration according to their qualifications. Furthermore, labour market-oriented training aims at reducing gender-specific discrimination and at helping people with problems arising from structural changes.

Labour market-oriented training concentrates on the situation of the individual, supporting unemployed people in overcoming barriers which prevent access to the labour market and in keeping long-term employment. Labour market-oriented training wants to address people who have already lost their job or whose job is at risk. These are mainly people who are subjected to existing social discrimination which may result in their being pushed out of the labour market. Apart from people whose jobs are permanently at risk or at least prone to essential changes for the worse, this mainly affects women, young people, mentally and physically disadvantaged, persons of non-Austrian nationality, long-term unemployed and people without completed initial training.

Measures Taken by the Labour Market-oriented Training

Labour market-oriented training comprises all vocational training measures which are agreed upon in the course of individual consultations between the person looking for employment and the Public Employment Service.

These measures may comprise:

• career-related training and educational facilities of the free education market,
• in-company training and further training measures (apart from apprenticeship training),
• training in schools and educational institutions,
• educational measures and facilities commissioned by the Public Employment Service in order to complement the measures and facilities offered by the free education market.

The purpose of these measures may either be:

• Career orientation and planning: to prepare people for acquiring qualifications.
• Training and further training and education: to acquire specific qualifications.
• Entry into work/trainee programmes: to acquire occupational, personal and social competences.

Careers Guidance – Help for Long-term Unemployed

Careers guidance and planning deals with long-term career prospects with special emphasis on helping people to overcome problems resulting from long absence from the labour market (e.g. in the case of people re-entering employment or long-term unemployed), from structural changes within the respective region or from the need to change one's occupation because of health problems. Apart from informing people about various occupational fields and opportunities, much importance is also put on dealing with social and personal problems.

Training and Qualifications

People who have not completed any training (e.g. drop-outs) or people who have obtained qualifications which are no longer in demand on the labour market, are to be provided with new or additional skills and competences in order to improve their competitiveness.

Training facilities aim at providing people with officially acknowledged qualifications like school-leaving certificates or Apprenticeship Leave Certificates. These training measures generally (save in the case of retraining) lead to higher-level qualifications which facilitate vocational promotion (e.g. from unskilled to skilled worker).

The basic aim is to provide people with additional qualifications and subsequently with an adequate job.

Promotion of Labour Market oriented Training

Promotion of	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997
individual training measures (number of persons)	32,519	43,319	43,675	52,014	63,517
in-company training measures for employees (granted applications) -1	123	139	529	10,622	30,872
in-company training measures on the request of the Public Employment Service (granted applications)	760	954	256	300	362
training measures held in institutions (number of courses)	1,060	1,519	439	528	-2
commissioned training measures held in institutions (number of courses)	1,397	1,199	1,111	1,251	2,799
commissioned in-company training measures (number of courses)	26	30	36	5	60
labour market-oriented training measures for people with special needs (number of persons)	16,105	18,839	16,530	17,508	11,519
labour market-oriented training measures for non-Austrian citizens (number of persons)	6,337	8,345	5,695	4,221	3,418
apprenticeship training in companies and institutions (number of apprentices)	1,941	1,996	1,785	4,132	13,725
young people (apprentices excluded) (number of persons)	1,461	1,953	2,385	2,838	4,876

1 from 1995/96 onwards including measures provided with the assistance of the ESF
2 measures discontinued as of 1996

Further Education and Training

Further education and training aims at providing people with additional vocational qualifications or with qualifications which make it easier to find employment. The latter comprise skills and knowledge which do not lead to officially recognized qualifications but still facilitate access to the labour market. There are no special requirements for participation in these further training and education courses.

The purpose of acquiring additional vocational qualifications is to complement initial training. Consequently, participation in such courses is conditional upon existing vocational knowledge and skills. Further training and education measures may either consist of classes in just one subject or of courses comprising various subjects. Further training and education may serve as preparation for an official or similar exams.

Providers of these kinds of measures may either be institutions of the free education market, individual companies or the Public Employment Service.

Supporting People who are Looking for Employment

These measures go beyond actual vocational training and are intended for those people who do not show any qualification deficiencies. The aim is to provide people with knowledge and skills which prove to be of great help when looking for employment. Thus the main objective is to help people to find adequate employment and commence work as soon as possible.

Courses are offered on how to present application papers and on how to present oneself in job interviews, on successful self-marketing on the phone, on analyzing job-ads and on measures to increase one's ability to take matters into one's own hands. In addition to that, German and other courses to promote integration are offered for non-Austrian citizens (e.g. studies of Austrian geography, history and institutions). These courses include measures offered by the free education market or commissioned by the Public Employment Service and German as well as other courses to promote integration.

Trainee Programmes

These training measures have been designed for people who are looking for employment and have theoretical knowledge but no practical experience or for people with personal deficiencies which impede successful integration into the labour market.

Within the framework of these training measures, people either work in a job which corresponds to their qualifications or participate in a job-project on a temporary basis, both measures being designed to lead to long-term full employment. These training measures, which are commissioned by the Public Employment Service, are mainly designed for school or university graduates and other clearly defined groups of people.

Geändert am 23.02.2007