The further development of apprenticeships; a large number of projects in the fields of career guidance and labour market analysis; apprenticeship trade marketing; new tests and material for vocational training; national and international competitions; a new State prize; apprenticeship-leave examinations; and a variety of European projects - the ibw developers have taken on an ambitious work programme for 2008.

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The ibw had the opportunity to test the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) by means of practical examples within the framework of the two projects AMOR and SME Master. The findings made in these two projects represent major contributions to the applicability of the approach on which the control instruments are based: to establish comparability of qualifications by learning-outcome orientation.

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In order to increase transparency of certificates and diplomas, the EU Commission has proposed an eight-step reference framework for qualifications of all Member States.

The individual countries now need to allocate their certificates and diplomas to this European Qualifications Framework (EQF).

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Already when entering a training path or the world of work, the information and service society poses complex requirements on individuals in terms of qualifications. The foundations for their professional future and integration into society are therefore laid at compulsory school age or earlier. This is today more important than ever before. Difficulties at the transition to training and employability frequently have their cause in deficits in basic education that are created early in the lifecycle. Therefore it is vital to identify where deficits occur and when and how something can be done to reduce them. This contribution defines "basic education" in a relatively wide sense, including not only elementary literacy and numeracy skills (reading, writing, arithmetic) but also a minimum level of the individuals' socio‑communicative ability to act.

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The major entry skills of apprenticeship seekers overall include: their personal interest in the trained occupation; punctuality and reliability; as well as their willingness to learn and perform; work motivation; accuracy, care; and good manners (politeness, friendliness, etc.). It is mainly because these key skills play such a vital role that companies frequently find fault with apprenticeship applicants in these areas.

For more selected findings of the ibw-öibf study, which bases on a survey among more than 300 training companies, see ibw-research brief issue no. 39.

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In late 2006, almost 126,000 young people were in an apprenticeship programme. Apprenticeship training is the by far strongest training route in Austria both when analysing input (students in the tenth grade), with 39 percent of school-attending youth, and even to a greater degree when analysing output.

For more data broken down by gender, sectors, provinces, apprenticeships, company sizes and labour market indicators please refer to ibw-research brief issue no. 37.

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In 2004, a clear decline started in the 10-13-year age group, which is relevant for secondary level. According to population projections, this trend will continue until approximately 2015. For 2015, some 335,000 young people between 10 and 13 are expected, which is about 42,000 less than today.

However, taking into account school selection trends, it can be assumed that it will be academic secondary school, which boasts a higher social attractiveness, that will better succeed in keeping its student figures stable in the competition among schools for students. What is the impact of the various variants of population projections? For more details, confer to ibw-research brief issue no. 38.

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Apprenticeship training is highly regarded in Austria. Roughly 40% of all 15-year-olds chose it after compulsory schooling. It is an important task to keep up the present attractiveness of dual education and training in the future. To achieve this, interesting and diverse training offers are needed, as well as different options that make it possible for apprenticeship completers to enter the next level of education (permeability).

An important step towards permeability was made in 1997, when the so-called job maturity examination (BRP) was introduced. By taking this exam, apprentices and skilled workers can acquire general access to post-secondary and tertiary education. Besides, the SBP examination (studies access examination) offers the possibility to acquire admission to a specific field of study.

If we want to develop these instruments further, or to show up other ways and possibilities to improve permeability, it is necessary to think out of the box and to start thinking about innovations, to develop and finally evaluate these. This very aim was at the centre of the project, which the BMWA (Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs an Labour) commissioned the ibw and the öibf to carry out.

On the basis of an analysis of already existing cooperation between apprenticeship and university/secondary schools (or further training), the commissioners developed three models that suggest simultaneous completion of apprenticeship and the school leaving examinations of upper secondary schools. Between April and November 2006, these suggestions were discussed with job education experts so as to get their point of view and to find possible ways to carry this topic further.

The present research brief sums up the main results of this survey. The complete study is soon going to be published on the web site of the BMWA.

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For several years, KMS/HS Brüßlgasse has been a partner school of the ibw and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO). Within the framework of the EU programme "Lifelong learning", the school carries out a Comenius II project on the topic of EUROPASS IN PRACTICE jointly with Portugal and the Czech Republic and headed by Principal Heinz Fiedler.

The ibw and WKO support the school project with a scheduled duration of two years and will evaluate it at the same time.

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The promotion of the learners' interest and learning motivation is considered a key objective of teaching and learning and also a precondition for achieving learning successes of major relevance. Empirical studies reveal, however, that - on average - school-related interests and learning motivation decline during the schooling period. This contribution aims to examine whether such a downward trend can also be observed in case of interest and learning motivation for business-oriented subjects at VET colleges.

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It is an undisputed fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as start-ups play a substantial role in terms of economic and labour market policies. However not only the number of companies is important, but also and in particular their sustainable business success.

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