Austria

The increasing international interest in the Austrian dual system of apprenticeship has triggered a trend to transfer this system, or parts of it, to foreign countries including developing and transition countries. This paper analyzes the trend from a developmental perspective. After a historic outline of vocational education in international development and the discussion of current global trends in vocational education, the paper elaborates on the transfer of the dual system from a theoretical as well as an empirical perspective. It then goes on to describe the Austrian dual system of apprenticeship. In the empirical part, the paper first examines the status quo of the transfer trend as well as key players, funding possibilities, approaches, lessons of experience and challenges. Findings are subsequently analyzed from a developmental perspective. Finally, recommendations are made of how to strengthen the developmental impact. The paper concludes that while current transfer activities respond well to several criteria set out by the Austrian Development Cooperation, a number of open questions remain as to sustainability, systemic effect and economic bias, among others.

This report presents the main findings and general recommendations of the 2015 SOLIDAR Foundation Education and Lifelong Learning Watch. Based on an extensive consultation with SOLIDAR members and partners, this initiative evaluates progress towards the achievement of the educational objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy and Education and Training 2020 strategic framework for Member States. The report assesses the policy actions dedicated to fight youth unemployment and support young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs) in 13 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom).

Our day-to-day lives are more and more dependent on digital technologies. Life without a computer, a tablet or a mobile phone has become unimaginable, and more people than ever have access to the internet. There are 134 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in the EU and 83% of households in Europe have access to the internet at home. These impressive numbers can create an illusion that, by having access to digital technologies, people automatically know how to use them. People tend to assume that if they own a digital device and know how to use certain applications, then they already have all the necessary skills for personal and professional life.

A number of the National Operators of ECDL in Europe have carried out digital literacy studies to find out what the actual digital skills levels in their countries are. Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Switzerland are all considered to be digitally advanced countries – they appear at the top of various international digital development indexes (for example, the Digital Economy and Society Index developed by the European Commission). However, surveys conducted in these countries revealed that gaps exist between self-perceived and actual levels of digital skills. Even young people, who are falsely assumed to be ‘digital natives’, usually under-perform in practical tests. This paper provides an overview of the main findings of the five studies and discusses their implications for digital skills development on the national and European levels.