On October 17-20, 2022, Austria participated in the WorldSkills competitions for welding and construction-metal work in Cleveland, Ohio. WorldSkills is an international body that advocates for vocational training worldwide and organizes biennial international championships focusing on different vocational skills. In 2022, the WorldSkills competition was held in several different countries simulataneously for the first time. Cleveland, Ohio hosted the welding and metal work construction events. Austria was represented in Cleveland by Daniel Schinagl in the welding event and Thomas Pöllabauer in construction-metal work. Daniel Schinagl received a Medallion for Excellence in his event.

Austria offers worldclass vocational education and training programs that play a major role in Austria’s economy. In fact, the majority of pupils that complete compulsory schooling opt for a VET path. Austria’s strong dual-track VET programs has led to low youth unemployment below the EU average and high VET parcipation rates (68.4% of upper secondary students in 2018). The high quality and labor market relevance of Austria’s VET programs also translates to high employability for graduates (88% of recent VET graduates were employed in 2019). Finally, Austria’s VET programs play a crucial role in the integration of refugees and migrants to both the labor market and society. To learn more about the Austrian model for VET programs, check out our article in the New Austrian magazine, available online here.

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