OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training: A Learning for Jobs Review of Austria 2008

Involuntary non-standard employment in Europe

“…In all countries in Table 4, with the exception of Germany, there is a higher chance of INE amongst individuals with low levels of education, albeit in the UK and Finland the coefficients are not statistically significant. It seems likely that in the case of Germany the result is a function of how the vocational education and training system operates, with clear routes for young people into employment (Hoeckel and Schwartz, 2010), and it is notable in relation to this finding that there are policies to promote apprenticeships in several countries where there are particular concerns about youth unemployment and young people’s transitions into the labour market. Ceteris paribus the impact of a low level of education is especially pronounced in Lithuania, Poland and Greece (all countries where the economic crisis had an especially strong impact); where relative to individuals with higher education the chance of INE for those with low education is especially pronounced.…”

Welfare Regimes and Education Regimes: Equality of Opportunity and Expenditure in the EU (and US)

“…For those who wish to pursue vocational education or training, the route is less clear-cut. Vocational programmes are provided in the main in institutional settings; participation in apprenticeships is low (around 10 per cent of nineteen-year olds and 5 per cent of nineteen- to twenty-four-year olds (Steedman, 2012)) and employer involvement minimal (see Hoeckel, 2008). Admission to higher education institutions is generally determined on the basis of external examinations taken at the end of upper secondary education.…”

Apprenticeship in England, United Kingdom

“…In some countries -for example Austria -the involvement of trade unions in agreeing new training occupations balances employer interests, since trade unions, with an eye on the careers of their members, are typically interested in ensuring that apprentice graduates can work in a broad industrial sector. In Austria, the outcome of social partnership negotiation of individual apprenticeship profiles results in a fruitful compromise between meeting very specific employer needs and the longer-term career interests of the graduate apprentices (see Hoeckel, 2010).…”