In-Company Training in Austria

Apprentices spend 80% of their apprenticeship in a company. Therefore, companies that engage in apprenticeship training have to fulfil certain prerequisites. These are certified by the Apprenticeship Office in collaboration with the Chamber of Labour. Companies can collaborate and form training alliances if they cannot provide every aspect of a training regulation. Apprenticeship training in companies is held under real-life working conditions. The apprentice and the training company sign a contract for the period of the training relationship.

All apprentices spend 80% of their training time in the training company, where they acquire job-specific knowledge and skills under real-life working conditions.

Before companies can engage in apprenticeship training, their suitability has to be checked. The Apprenticeship Office of the province where the company is based is obliged by law to examine in collaboration with the Chamber of Labour whether the company meets the prerequisites for apprenticeship training. If that is the case, the company will receive a “declaration” certifying that the company is entitled to recruit apprentices. Companies have to prove that they

1. are legally entitled to carry out the activities in which the apprentice is to be trained;
2. have adequate equipment at their disposal;
3. have qualified IVET trainers among their employees.

Companies can cooperate with other companies in training alliances if they cannot fulfil the training regulations completely. These training alliances can also be entered into on a voluntary basis.

For the duration of the training, a contract is signed between the company providing training and the apprentice. If the apprentice is not yet of age, their legal guardian must also sign the agreement. The company pays an apprenticeship remuneration which is increased every year.

At the end of December 2022, a total of 108,085 apprentices were in training in Austria, with 101,857 of them being trained in companies and 6,228 in supra-company training facilities.

As of 31 December 2022, 28,553 companies (including 97 supra-company training facilities and 28,456 training companies) were training apprentices. Thus, one company providing training accounted for around 4 apprentices.