OECD: Austria with the highest proportion of vocational training

2023-09-13 03:48:00

The OECD presented the “Education at a Glance” study on Tuesday.

In Austria, the proportion of young people who have completed vocational training is particularly high. Among 25 to 34 year olds, 54 percent have a vocational qualification. This is the highest value of the 38 OECD countries.

Specifically, around 35 percent have completed an apprenticeship or a secondary vocational school (BMS) or attended the first three years of a secondary vocational school (BHS) such as HTL or HAK. 15 percent then continued to attend such a BHS or completed a high school diploma, which the OECD classifies as a short tertiary education course in the 4th and 5th years. On average across the OECD, 32 percent have a vocational qualification as their highest level of education.

The aim must be to “make vocational training the first choice,” says the OECD publication. In order to become an equivalent alternative to academic training, the quality and perception of vocational training must be further improved. In addition, close partnerships with employers are essential, according to the appeal to the OECD and partner countries.

What is positively highlighted in the study is that the unemployment rates among BHS graduates are lower than those of their colleagues with AHS qualifications (in Austria: 4.7 percent compared to 6.2 percent).

“The results of this year’s OECD study show once again that Austria is number one in the world in vocational training,” said Education Minister Martin Polaschek (VP) happily in a press release. The Chamber of Commerce also emphasized that, with its high proportion of people with vocational training, Austria has an important competitive advantage in the fight against a shortage of skilled workers.

The OECD also compared teacher salaries. Accordingly, Austrian educators have a higher income than their colleagues in other countries. Compared to other academics, teachers in Austria earn lower incomes. Despite the current shortage of teachers, there is a relatively large number of teaching staff in the system: In Austria, in purely mathematical terms, there are twelve students per teacher in elementary school and nine students in secondary school. The OECD average, however, is 15 (primary school) and 13 (secondary school) students per teacher.