16 - Austria - Educational/vocational guidance, education/employment links

Colleges and other training institutions for health occupations

Higher-level paramedical services and midwives: Educational counselling is provided as part of general career counselling at secondary higher schools or in the form of targeted educational campaigns.

As the imparting of theoretical knowledge is intertwined with the development of practical skills and abilities, students of these health occupations can make a direct transition to the working world after graduation.

Measures to help transition from university to work

Graduation from university does not automatically entail any professional qualifications. Whenever the law requires professional qualifications for an academic profession, these qualifications are – with the exception of veterinary surgeons – obtained in post-doctoral training (e.g. doctors, higher-level secondary school teachers, judges, etc.).

The Federal Ministry for Science and Research primarily provides information, advice and guidance on possible training and study courses following school education. At secondary schools, pupils are supported in the decision-making process during instruction and by educational counsellors and pupils’ counsellors who inform and advise them on training routes after graduation.

Under the key2success campaign (since the school year 2005/06), support measures at school have been intensified and additional aids for self-reflection and decision monitoring have been made available

Furthermore universities organise information days for interested pupils. The ministry’s studies information service publishes a number of information brochures and handles telephone and written enquiries. Annual study, career and further education fairs are held at various educational locations

Most universities and higher education institutions have set up special career centres to inform and advise their graduates on entering professional life.

 

Psychological counselling service for students

A socio-psychological service run by the Federal Ministry for Science and Research, the psychological counselling service serves students and potential students who are offered psychological and psychotherapeutic support. The efforts mainly concentrate on helping students to take matters into their own hands in order to improve their competences to cope with their studies, their choice of course and their living situation. The services are tailored to the needs of the clients and their willingness to cooperate, and are free of charge and confidential. Counselling centres can be found in Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg, Linz and Vienna.

Universities

The " Österreichische Hochschülerschaft" (Austrian National Union of Students) is the statutory interest representation of students. One of its tasks is to provide educational guidance.

The curricula for bachelor's and diploma programmes provide for an orientation phase in the first (and second) term. This phase covers lecture courses in introductory subjects which are highly characteristic of the study programme selected; moreover, guidance events must be staged to provide counselling in the preparatory phase. At the beginning of their studies, students must be informed of the main provisions of university legislation, the legal provisions governing allowances and grants, student co-determination in the university bodies, the legal bases governing gender mainstreaming and the promotion of women, the curriculum, the qualification profile, the orientation phase, the recommended lecture programme for the first two terms, and in particular on the number of students in that particular study course, the statistics on successful completion, and on the employment statistics. This information must be provided in appropriate events, brochures or through the media. Moreover, tutorials for beginners are to be set up to assist students in coping with the academic, organisational and social challenges of the first year of studies.

Students are free to attend any university and any course of study as long as they meet the admission requirements. The decision on studies and careers largely depends on the employment opportunities for university graduates and on the regional provision of study programmes. Since 2005 there have been important changes concerning admission requirements. Admission procedures were introduced for eight courses of study that are affected by the German numerus clausus restrictions. This procedure will be valid until 2007 and allows universities to control the influx of new students. Degree courses in medicine are particularly affected.

 

Inclusion in university and on the labour market

Within the framework of a general survey examining the social backgrounds of Austrian students in the year 2002, a special study on the social situation of students with health impairments was commissioned. The study has shown that particularly students who suffer from health impairments which are not legally "recognised" (i.e. mainly students with chronic illnesses) find it difficult to cope with the present learning conditions. As far as students with legally recognised impairments are concerned (i.e. students whose certified degree of disability is at least 50%), improvements are suggested in the following areas: information services, organisational set-up of studies (including more flexibility in course attendance and alternative modes of examination), online study offer, increased accessibility of buildings/lecture halls and other personal needs.

The Federal Social Welfare Offices ("Bundessozialamt") of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, and the European Social Fund support a project called "ABAk" which promotes the integration of disabled students and graduates into the labour market. ( )

 

Fachhochschulen

Fachhochschulen study programmes are university-level programmes which are designed to provide professional training on the basis of scholarship and science. For bachelor's and diploma programmes, a traineeship is a relevant part of the study programme. 

Federal Ministry of Social Affairs and Consumer Protection
Stubenring 1 1010 Wien
Tel.:+43/1/711 00-0
Website: http://www.bmsk.gv.at

 

Federal Ministry of Science and Research
Minoritenplatz 5 1014 Wien
Tel.:+43/1/53120-0
Website: http://www.bmwf.gv.at

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