Implementing employment
promotion programs in Austria
Regional flexibility and tailor made
interventions in the context of
centralised regulations and targets
Case study: The Youth training guarantee
program
PES Austria
Dr. Ernst Haider
Moskau, 17.9.2014
Czech Rep
Slovakia
Lower Austria
Germany
Upper Austria
Styria
Carinthia
Swizzerland
Hungary
Italy
Slovenia
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Austrian labour market 2013
(% change compared to 2012 in brackets)
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Population
Population of working age (15-65 years)
Employees
Unemployed (national registration)
Persons affected by unemployment
EU Employment rate
EU unemployment rate
National UE-rate
EU long-term unemployed
EU Youth unemployment rate
 registered job vacancies
 “market-share” of PES
8,3 m
5,7 m
3,480,000 (+0,5%)
287,000 (+10,2%)
886,000 (+4,3%)
72,3%
4,9%
7,6% (+0,6%pt)
1,2%
9,2%
440.000 (-1,7%)
36,5%
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The AMS, the Public Employment Service
 is a service provider company under public law
 is divided into one federal, 9 regional and 101 local offices
 the local organisations are complemented by 67 career
information and counselling centres
 representatives of employers’ and labour organisations
(unions) are involved at all levels and make a considerable
contribute to forming labour market policy
 at the end of December 2013, 5.539 staff (corresponding to
4.902 full time equivalents) were at the service of job-seekers
and enterprises.
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Characterising LMP in Austria
• LMP is a statutory federal governmental policy task,
• There is no political decentralisation of LMP to other
governmental bodies or municipalities
• The AMS performs its duties within the framework of the general
labour market policy goals as set out in the PES-Act and by the
ministry of labour
• Integration of ALMP and UI (passive LMP) within the AMS
• Revenue of the UI contributions is used for income support to
job-seekers (benefits) and for active labour market policies
• Tripartite representation by workers’, employers’ and
government representatives at all levels of the AMS
• AMS could be defined as a managerial decentralised, selfadministration model in coordination and cooperation with
other LMP-players on the local level (“Länder”)(Mosley 2011)
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LMP-Planning-Architectur in Austria
Europa 2020 – A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive
growth , ESF 2014-2020
National Reformprogram Austria (NRP)
Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan
LMP-objectives given by the BMASK
Long term business plan 2013-2016
Annual LMP-targets
Balanced Scorecard
(process-targets and customer
satisfaction)
Budget
(staff /infrastructure)
Budget
(ALMP, UI-benefits)
Regional&local working programs
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System of central-steering the AMS
Targets
Regulations
Ressources
(tasks and services)
 Management by
Objectives
 Balanced Scorecard
 Working programs
 Controlling
 Rules & directives
(active and passiv
LMP)
 Organisational
structur and
development
 HR-training and
-development
 ALMP Budget
 Budget
 Staff
 Infrastructure
 IT
 ManagementInformation
systems
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Characterising the AMS
• Centralised Tasks
 Decision of priority labour market policy programs
 Implementation of annual LMP-goals, MbO-system and BSC
 Specification of nationwide standard regulations concerning
organisation, personnel, facilities, research and statistics
 Performance Management Controlling
• Decentralised Tasks
 Implementation of regional LMP-goals and LMP-programs
 Coordination with other LMP-institutions, the local government
in the TEP (territorial employment pacts)
 elaborating labour market policy aims for the respective regions
 Distribution of budget and staff to the local offices
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Regional/local Cooperation
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PES bodies ensure that activities at regional and local levels are
performed in close cooperation with the social partners.
cooperation of PES with the nine Region (Länder) governments has been
enhanced over the years, e.g. cofinancing LMP-programms
Balanced financing of regional/local training&employment programms
between PES and regional government gives advantage for appropriate
measures in the local context
Combining labour market and regional economic policy through Territorial
Employment Pacts (TEPs, the management of the TEPs is ESF-funded),
which support structural change by supplying business and industry with
skilled workers and by training job-seekers to meet skill requirements.
agencies for vocational training and further training, counselling centres
for vulnerable target groups and other organisations are involved.
Cooperation also involves private placement agencies and temporary
work agencies
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Austrian Background TEP - Partners
Public Employment Service
Provincial Government
Chamber of Labour
Federation of Industry
Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of Agriculture
NGOs (Local Initiatives)
Federal Office
of Social Affairs
Gender Mainstreaming
Experts
Budgets of the
partners:
over EUR 930
Million p.a.
Federation of
Trade Unions
Provincial School Board
Educational Institutions
Municipalities
Regional Management
Associations
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THEMATIC FOCUS of the TEPs
Assistance to trainees
and start-ups
Cross-project co-operation
Interface social welfare to
work and school to work
Special employment facilities
for marginalised groups
Lower Austria
Vienna
Upper Austria
Female youth: manufacturing
school Tyrol and Unterland
Vorarlberg
Tyrol
Structural integration at the
interface school/labour market
Styria
Salzburg
Burgenland
Carinthia
Sustainable measures, cooperation between interfaces
Closing gaps: measures
for unemployed
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Case study
Implementing
the Youth training guarantee program
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13.5
Malta
23.4
23.4
23.6
23.7
EU 28
Schweden
Rumänien
Belgien
27.3
Polen
Griechenland
40.0
38.9
37.7
49.8
58.6
55.7
60.0
Spanien
Kroatien
Italien
Zypern
33.7
40.0
Portugal
Slowakische Rep.
28.4
27.2
Ungarn
Bulgarien
26.8
Irland
24.8
23.2
Lettland
30.0
Frankreich
22.8
21.9
Litauen
EU 15
21.6
20.5
Großbritannien
Slowenien
19.9
18.9
Tschechische Rep.
Finnland
18.7
Eurostat (Abfrage 15.04.2014)
Estland
17.4
20.0
Luxemburg
13.0
11.0
Dänemark
Niederlande
9.2
Österreich
0.0
7.9
10.0
Deutschland
Youth unemployment rate (15-24) in the EU (2013)
50.0
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Favourable framework conditions for the
youth labour market in Austria

low level of total/youth unemployment
2013 : Austria: 4,9 %/ 9,2%; EU 28: 10,8 %/ 23,4%
 the dual (vocational) training system
 combination of on-the-job training in an enterprise and school-based
education (ratio 80:20)
 about 41 % of a birth year cohort start an apprenticeship after
compulsory education
 About 200 different apprenticeships in crafts, industry and services are
defined, the duration ranges from two to four years.
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Since the 80 ies one of the Federal Government’s LMP-priorities is to
optimise the labour market prospects for young people.
in 2013 about EUR 640 Mio. were spent for labour market and employment
policy for young people (40% of active LMP-spending)
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Unemployment rate of young people
(20 to 24) by education
Every third young person without education is unemployed
average: 10,6%
compulsory education
apprenticeship
secondary technical
and vocational schools
– medium level
Upper –level secondary
technical and vocational
colleges
Secondary academic
schools – upper level
Tertiary level education (e.g.
universities; colleges,
vocational training academies)
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Implementing the Youth training guarantee
program – central regulations
 To give all young people a chance to complete a vocational
education, the Training Guarantee started in 1998 and was
expanded in 2008 on a legal basis.
 Training guarantee (§ 38e Austria‘s Public Employment Act): Each
young person who wants to take up an apprenticeship will get a
training slot as promised by the Training Guarantee within 3
months either by
 entering an apprenticeship in the labour market,
 entering a supra-company apprenticeship training or
 taking on a training opportunity provided by the PES
 A regulatory framework (guidelines, financing, monitoring) has
been set out by the federal PES
 Providing the financial ressources according to the regional
demand
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Implementing the Youth training guarantee
program - decentral organisation
 Regional/local PES analyse the structure of the youth target
group (gender, minorities, vulnerable groups...) and the
preferred type of apprenticeship
 Regional/local PES analyse the local demand of enterprises for
specific qualifications – according to the local economy
(tourism, services, rural/urban areas, etc.)
 Based on this information regional PES makes a call for tenders
for the delivery of supra-company-training
 Equal funding by regional PES and regional governments
 Assessment of the outcome and further development in the
regional context (new qualifications, quantitative&qualitative
adjustments, etc)
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Training Guarantee for young people –
supra-company apprenticeship training
• Supra-company apprenticeship training
 If young apprenticeship-seekers cannot be placed in a formal
apprenticeship, they will be offered („guaranteed“) the opportunity to
enter a apprenticeship programme in a supra-company apprenticeship
training.
 the apprenticeship training is provoded by private or non profit institutions
 the attendance of public vocational school is mandatory
1. Supra-company apprenticeship training by an educational institution
– theoretical training in a public vocational school
– practical training offered by the educational institution
2. Cooperation between an educational institution and a private company
– theoretical training in a public vocational school
– practical training in a company
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Supra-company apprenticeship training
eductional institution
goal: completion of apprenticeship
vocational school
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Supra-company apprenticeship training
educational institution
goal: transfer to apprenticeship in a company
company
vocational school
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Supra-company apprenticeship training
• Number of participants:
2009
12.177
2010
12.784
2011
12.000
2012
11.026
• Expenses: € 12.000/participant/year
• Achievements (results of evaluation):
– about 50% changed to an appreticeship in a company
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Success factors of the Austrian PES
 political agreement concerning the duties and the framework
conditions of the AMS
 Tripartite self-administrated (semi governmental) organisation
 concentration on core activities and main processes since the
reform 1994
 stable staff structure (low managers and employee turnover)
 Performance Management (MbO, BSC)
 ongoing organisational development (total quality management)
 Good mixture of central & decentralised decisions and providing
services (federalism)
 time for planning, testing, evaluation and implementing of new
activities is taken
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Tank you for your attention
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