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Early childhood education and care (ECEC)

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Responsible bodies

Quality assurance tasks in elementary education are carried out by the following public bodies:

• In Austria, ECEC institutions are the responsibility of the provinces, i.e. of the provincial governments at regional level, which implement various quality assurance measures. A measure applied in all provinces is the appointment of kindergarten inspectors who take care of pedagogical supervision in the facilities.
• At the federal level, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) is responsible for
  • the training of kindergarten teachers - and thus for a central aspect of quality assurance. The training is standardised throughout Austria;
  • the educational framework plan, which forms the essential basis for the work at ECEC institutions throughout Austria.
  • The BMBWF has the lead in taking charge of implementation of the agreement between the Federal Government and the federal provinces on early childhood education, which includes investments in the ECEC sector. 
• The Austrian Federal Minister for Women, Family, Youth and Integration in the Federal Chancellery is responsible for:
  • family policies including promotion of childminders;
  • reconciliation of family and work;
  • Family Burden Equalisation Fund: family allowance, childcare allowance, free public transport for pupils, free school books, advanced payment of child support.

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In line with the Barcelona objective of the European Union, the federal government and the provinces agreed to promote the availability of childcare facilities.

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Approaches and methods for quality assurance

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External Quality Assurance

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Cross-provincial education framework plan

In 2009 a cross-provincial education framework plan for ECEC establishments was introduced in Austria. This plan, which was developed on behalf of all provinces by the Charlotte Bühler Institute for Practice-Oriented Infant Research, defines the basics of elementary education processes and thus serves inter alia as a measure of quality assurance. 

The framework plan deals, among other things, with the pedagogical quality of ECEC institutions, which is of central importance for the development of the skills of young children and thus for their educational biography. The pedagogical quality is determined by the following quality areas or measures:

• Process quality: This refers to the interactions and experiences that children have with their social and spatial-material environment. A high process quality has a positive effect on the wellbeing of the children. The professionalism of the teachers who set pedagogical impulses and thus comprehensively support the development of children's skills, is decisive for a high process quality.
• Orientation quality: This relates to professional guidelines, educational ideas and convictions of those adults who are directly involved in everyday educational life. The pedagogical orientation includes the image of the child, the understanding of the role of the teacher and principles for the design of educational processes.
• Structural quality: This relates to the framework conditions in ECEC institutions, such as the staff-child ratio, the equipment for children and employees or the qualifications of the staff.
• Quality management: This has the task of safeguarding and developing pedagogical quality. The management of the facility plays a central role in this process. On the basis of the initial situation quality goals are defined, and their implementation is checked. The results may lead to further quality assurance and development measures.

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In addition to the education framework plan, further documents have been published since its initial introduction in 2009 that are valid throughout Austria:

• Module for the last year in elementary educational institutions: In autumn 2010, the attendance of the last kindergarten year was made obligatory. In this way, all children, regardless of their socio-economic and cultural origin, should have the best possible opportunities for their further educational career. In addition to the framework education plan, the Charlotte Bühler Institute has therefore developed practical instructions for working with five-year-olds, which aim to strengthen the basic skills of children and pay particular attention to the transition to primary school.
• Guideline for conveying values: Supplementing the education framework plan, guidelines aiming to convey the fundamental values of Austrian society in a child-friendly form were published in 2018. These guidelines, edited by the Teacher Training College Lower Austria on behalf of the Austrian Integration Fund and BMBWF, support kindergarten teachers in conveying values using practical implementation tips.

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All uniform basic educational documents having been defined nationwide, which are to be used and implemented by the appropriate elementary educational institutions. This includes the following additional documents:

• Guideline for linguistic support at the transition from kindergarten to primary school
• Guideline for children in home care in the year before starting school.
• Guideline "Digital media education in elementary educational institutions"
• Support catalog   „school entrance“
• Guideline for the selection of external experts in elementary educational institutions
• Checklist for the selection of external experts in elementary educational institutions.

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Kindergarten inspectors

For external review and quality assurance the subject-specific provincial laws (as an example, cf. law on kindergartens in Vorarlberg) of all nine provinces foresee the appointment of kindergarten inspectors. These are responsible for pedagogical supervision, i.e. for ensuring the pedagogical quality in ECEC facilities on the basis of the education framework plan as well as their professional consultancy.

Every ECEC location is visited at least once a year. If complaints are submitted, non-routine inspections may occur. Inspectors may access the building and review operational records, act as primary assessors of quality and indicate quality shortcomings. Services have to fulfil standards defined by the provincial law concerning size and organisation of indoor and outdoor space, equipment, sanitary facilities and suitability of staff. If these standards are not fulfilled during the accreditation process, institutions are required to upgrade their standards. An already existing accreditation might be withdrawn in case of non-compliance.

In addition, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research reserves the right, within the agreement between the Federal Government and the federal provinces on early childhood education, to conduct unannounced visits during the kindergarten year and to inspect the accounts itself pursuant to Art. 17. The Austrian Integration Fund is responsible for the execution of these visits. If there is any doubt that the objectives and educational tasks defined in Art. 1 and Art. 3 are being properly fulfilled, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research reserves the right to conduct a case-by-case examination with the involvement of other institutions.

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Expansion of early childhood education and care

It has been empirically proven that a child's first years of education decisively influence the further course of education. ECEC institutions or also educational “alternatives” (such as child minders) are therefore increasingly seen in the broad perception as the first educational institution and are also increasingly assuming this role/responsibility. Therefore, the federal government and the nine provinces have agreed to improve the structural and educational quality of ECEC offers enabling every child the best possible preparation for his further education and life path. 

In 2018, the federal government and the provinces signed an agreement, which foresees the quantitative and qualitative expansion of elementary education by providing appropriate financial resources for the following measures. A new agreement which confirmed these goals was concluded in 2022:

• expanding child education and care for under three-year-olds
• increasing flexibility and expanding the opening times in ECEC institutions
• fostering the improvement of the framework conditions and the care key
• strengthening day-care parenting as an alternative and supplement to ECEC institutions
• continuing the free half-day compulsory kindergarten for five-year-olds
• intensifying and improving the quality of language training support structures
• introducing a headscarf ban for children in ECEC institutions
• teaching the fundamental values of the Austrian society in order to strengthen the common basis in ECEC institutions
• improving qualifications of specialists and language support staff
• clearly defining the objectives of education and care
• improving the transition between kindergarten and primary school
• improving the cooperation between the federal and provincial governments.

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To ensure the most uniform possible standards in the quality of the provision of elementary education all over Austria, the federal and the provincial governments have agreed on the implementation of basic pedagogical documents, comprising the education framework plan, the module for the last year of kindergarten and the guidelines for conveying values.

All uniform basic educational documents having been defined nationwide, which are to be used and implemented by the appropriate elementary educational institutions.

This includes the following additional documents:

• Guideline for linguistic support at the transition from kindergarten to primary school
• Guideline for children in home care in the year before starting school.
• Guideline "Digital media education in elementary educational institutions"
• Support catalog „school entrance“
• Guideline for the selection of external experts in elementary educational institutions
• Checklist for the selection of external experts in elementary educational institutions 

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Language proficiency assessment

Part of the agreement concluded between the federal government and the provinces in 2018 is the intensification and further development of language support training. Fostering the acquisition of German is an integral part of the tasks of ECEC institutions, as language skills are fundamental for successful learning processes. Linguistic support must be carried out systematically in the last two years before starting school. Children with an insufficient knowledge of German are to be supported from the entry in an ECEC institution but especially in the last two years of kindergarten, so that they master the education language German as much as possible. The guidelines “Language promotion at the transition from kindergarten to elementary school”, which was written by the Charlotte Bühler institute, forms the basis for language support training in ECEC institutions. 

In order to improve the quality of language support training, a standardised instrument for assessing the language skills in German has been used in ECEC institutions since 2019/20. The BESK KOMPAKT instrument is used to determine the language skills in German of children with German as their first language. BESK-DaZ KOMPAKT aims to assess the language skills in German of children with German as a second language. Both instruments were developed by the federal Institute for Quality Assurance in the Austrian School System (IQS), together with field specialists.

These instruments include language skills indicators which allow kindergarten teachers to determine the language level and the specific needs of each child. In order to ensure a nationwide procedure, uniform observation periods and threshold values were defined, on the basis of which a possible need for language support training can be identified.

A compulsory transfer sheet (visited 2020-11-01) from the ECEC service / institution to the primary school is used which, based on the results of the language level instrument, provides information on a child’s strengths and supportable areas in the area of language and offers a concrete starting point for planning further support measures. This is to be sent to the primary schools by the beginning of September at the latest after the end of the school holidays prescribed by provincial law, and reflects the child’s state of development in the last kindergarten year. 

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Seal of approval for the training of day-care parents

In addition to the institutional care services for young children, there is also the option in Austria of using the service of day-care parents. Day-care mothers and fathers look after one or more children at home as part of the family. Many associations or employing institutions offer training for day-care parents. Further training is expected and made compulsory by some employers. The provincial laws regulate the conditions for exercising the profession, including the required extent of training. The seal of  approval for training courses for day-care parents was created to provide an impetus for standardizing training, which is very different due to the provincial regulations. This is an attempt to promote a uniform qualification for day-care parents throughout Austria, which is also part of the above-mentioned agreement between the federal government and the provinces. This seal is awarded to training courses that have been audited by the Federal Ministry and offer training in accordance with the “Curriculum for training courses for day-care mothers/day-care fathers". The curriculum, which comprises 300 teaching units in theory and practice as a minimum standard, was revised in 2019 with regard to admission criteria, modernisation of the terms and everyday language training support.

Training standards for those working in elementary education

The quality of elementary educational work largely depends on the qualifications of people working in ECEC institutions.

The training of kindergarten teachers is uniformly regulated throughout Austria. It takes place in colleges of elementary pedagogics covering a period of five years and completing with the matriculation and diploma exam (HE entrance qualification). These colleges fall within the sphere of responsibility of the Ministry of Education. For teachers of jobspecific subjects in these colleges the completion of the Bachelor programme in “Education – Training – Development support” of 240 ECTS is required. 

As well as the five-year BAfEPs there are four-semester post-secondary BAfEP VET courses and five/six-semester part-time VET courses which lead to the same qualification. Based on the three-year vocational schools for pedagogical assistant professions, which have been offered since the 2019/20 school year at some teacher training colleges for early childhood education (or based on other qualifications from schools for intermediate vocational education), three-year add-on courses are offered, which also lead to the matriculation and diploma examination for kindergarten education.

For the SEN area, i.e. for working with children, adolescents and adults with special educational needs, there are three-year part-time courses on inclusive elementary pedagogy which complete with a SEN qualification. These courses address people with a qualification in kindergarten teaching or in social pedagogy. 

The training of assistance forces who support the group-leading kindergarten teachers in their work is not standardised throughout Austria. In some provinces there are no legal requirements, in others a short training course in further education institutions is required. In addition, there an intermediate three-year school programme for ECEC assistances was established in 2018/19 with the aim to offer a nationwide uniform alternative to regional training programmes.

For several years, a tertiary bachelor's programme in elementary pedagogy has been offered for heads of ECEC institutions or for people aiming at a management position. In addition, there are university master’s courses for this target group with a focus on leadership, consultancy and mentoring.

 

Internal Quality Assurance

As one of the measures of quality assurance and improvement the framework education plan foresees the establishment of a quality management system at ECEC institution level: Heads of such institutions are required to foster together with their teams the quality development and assurance in their institutions. 

The self-evaluation tool “Pedagogical Quality Features” (SEI), which has been in use since 2014 in Upper Austria (see Austria: National report on education 2021, Vol.1), can be cited as an example of a state-specific initiative for internal quality development and assurance.

In its contents the SEI is based on the six areas of education of the framework education plan (including emotions and social relationships, nature and technology), to which the subjects of ‘transitions’ and ‘partners in education’ have been added. ‘Pedagogical quality features’ referring to the quality of pedagogical processes as well as selected structural conditions (e.g. materials and premises) were derived from these eight areas. The main objective of the SEI is to step-by-step optimise the pedagogical work based on self-assessments of the practical work done by kindergarten teachers. These self-assessments serve as starting points for the selection and discussion of change goals. These goals are determined individually for each group or for the entire ECEC institution and differentiated into rough targets, indicators and measures to improve the pedagogical quality. The results of these self-assessments and the conclusions withdrawn from them are sent annually to the professional supervisor.

After their implementation, the success of the measures is reflected in order to secure the results and initiate further steps as part of a continuous quality development process. Heads of ECEC institutions are supported by the SEI in their decisions about development goals and processes to be optimised. The discussion about quality development based on uniform quality features also contributes to the self-image of an educational institution as a learning organisation. Ultimately, institution-specific or group-specific strengths and successes can also be made more transparent for the public (legal entities, parents, etc.). 

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Primary and secondary school education

This chapter focuses on QA measures of programmes on the primary and secondary levels of education. In the first sub-chapter (responsible bodies) the main actors and entities involved in QA are briefly referred to. In the second sub-chapter (approaches and methods for quality assurance, both internal and external) are described: first, those that are implemented at school level (general and vocational education); second, measures that are used in dual VET programmes.

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Responsible bodies

The following institutions play an important role in quality assurance (specific groups of people responsible for QA in these facilities are mentioned in approaches and methods):·

• Quality assurance in school programmes (general education and school-based VET) is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF).
• The Boards of Education located in each federal state play an essential role in quality assurance, as they are responsible for the school supervision.
• The Federal Institute for Quality Assurance in the Austrian School System (IQS) has important tasks in quality assurance as well. As a subordinate department of BMBWF, IQS supports the ministry in the evidence-based governance and further development of the Austrian school system.
• The Federal Ministry for Labour and Economy (BMAW) is responsible for quality assurance of the company-based part of dual VET programmes.

 

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Approaches and methods for quality assurance

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QA measures on primary and secondary levels

Quality assurance in primary and secondary level schools was recently going through a process of change that began with the passing of the Education Reform Act in September 2017. Due to a profound change in governance structures and school administration as well as an increase in school autonomy it was necessary to build up a new integrated quality management system for all schools. As from autumn 2024 the quality management system for Austrian schools (QMS) is fully developed and is continuously implemented.

QMS is an integrated quality management system that comprises an obligatory quality framework. QMS provides tools for the school management, teachers, and teams of teachers to support them in their respective QMS activities (e.g. school development plan, Q Manual, review and target setting meeting, etc.) as well as an evaluation platform. The evaluation platform can be used by each school, and each individual teacher has an account. QMS aims to address not only school leaders and school management but also teams of teachers and individual teachers. Their roles in QMS are defined in task profiles as well as in the QMS model:

 

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Reorganisation of school supervision

The Education Reform Act, which has been implemented in a step-by-step process since September 2017, has the goal of giving schools more autonomy by enhancing their educational, organisational and personnel scope. This concerns, for instance, the school-independent definition of class and group sizes, the school-independent determination of tuition times, more flexibility regarding the duration of learning units and the school-specific definition of requirements for the selection of teachers.

Giving more autonomy to the single school requires a careful quality control in order to guarantee the best education despite differences. This control should be ensured through an integrated quality management system for schools (QMS), a systematic educational monitoring as well as through external evaluation of the schools on the basis of a uniform quality framework.

More autonomy also leads to a change of roles and responsibilities of leaders at all governance levels. This in turn affects the range of tasks and the organisational structure of the school supervision. Before the Education Reform Act came into force, school supervision was the responsibility of the regional education authority. With the new law, the Board of Education was introduced as a new authority for the whole school sector, replacing the regional education authority. The Board of Education covers administrative duties of the federal government and the federal states. In each federal state a Board of Education comprising two or more education regionals was set up. Educational regions are regional coordination platforms in which educational actors across all school types work together. The following organisational units of the Board of Education work together within each educational region:

• The pedagogical service unit is responsible for school supervision. It supervises the quality management in the schools, coordinates the regional educational offers, and provides educational consultancy and support services.

• The presidential department supervises the use of resources with the support of the pedagogical service unit, administers the federal and state teachers in all educational regions, and provides support services for students and teachers and parents.

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In each education region there is a school supervision team. In these teams school quality managers work together that have the following key tasks:

• supervision of the fulfilment of the tasks of the Austrian schools

• ensuring the implementation of reforms and development guidelines (in the region)

• participation in quality management – evidence-based steering of regional educational planning

• participation in school type and location-related school development

• ongoing quality control

• strategic personnel management at school and school cluster levels

• provision of pedagogical expertise (at interfaces)

• crisis and complaint management in the event of escalation

• other tasks assigned to the educational region by the Board of Education

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As can be seen from this range of tasks, school quality managers accompany and support schools in the implementation of quality management on the one hand but carry out regular quality controls on the other.

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External school evaluation

The 2017 education reform, together with the expansion of school autonomy, has initiated important reforms to strengthen data-supported school and teaching development. As part of the further development of the quality management system for schools (QMS), the role of internal and external school evaluation is being expanded as a central component of quality development and quality assurance at Austrian schools. While regular internal school evaluations are the responsibility of the school itself, external school evaluations are carried out by external experts - the school evaluators.

In Austria, external school evaluation is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) (§ 5 BD-EG, § 227b BDG). School evaluators analyse the quality of school processes and teaching with reference to the quality framework for schools. The focus is always on improving the quality of teaching and students' learning.

In Austria, external school evaluation is designed as a quality-assured procedure that is carried out using standardised methods (data and document analysis, interviews, questionnaire surveys, lesson observations) by specifically trained school evaluators with many years of practical educational experience.

The externally evaluated schools receive detailed data-based feedback on their strengths and development potential in addition to the knowledge already available on site, for example from internal evaluation.

External school evaluation thus provides an important support service for the targeted development of school and teaching quality in the interests of students and the entire staff at schools. In addition, external school evaluation provides systematic information on the overall development of school and teaching quality in Austria as part of educational monitoring by analysing evidence across schools.

From the 2023/24 school year, schools can request an external evaluation in order to learn more about their strengths and areas of development through the data-based analysis of the school evaluation team and thus work specifically on school and teaching development. In addition, the BMBWF's evaluation plan will also include a sample of primary schools, secondary schools and general secondary schools from the 2023/24 school year. Around 150 schools nationwide will be selected annually for external evaluation based on certain structural characteristics (school size, geographical distribution, socio-economic composition, etc.). The data obtained is used for in-depth analyses of school and teaching quality in Austria and is intended to identify specific starting points for quality development.

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Quality management for schools

Since the school year 2012/13, measures for educational quality development and quality assurance have been binding for all Austrian schools. Since January 2021 all Austrian schools have a common obligatory quality management system (QMS), for which the Education Reform Act of 2017 laid the basis. But also before, Austrian schools had quality management systems: schools for general education had SQA (2012-2021) and VET schools had QIBB (2004-2021).

QMS aims at the systematic design and organisation of quality development and quality assurance at school level. It should ensure that schools see themselves as learning organisations that continuously develop further. It supports the use of evidence (information and data) on the quality of schools and teaching in order to be able to make well-founded decisions regarding the school and the learners. Evidence should therefore not only be used by the school management, but also by teachers. QMS also contributes to fostering a quality culture in schools in which quality and development-oriented attitudes (e.g. willingness to change, openness to innovation, error culture) can develop and become effective.

The control of the quality development and assurance process at the school level is up to the school management. It is supported by a quality manager (the so-called Q-school coordinator or "Q-SK"). The cooperation of all teachers is a central requirement for the effective implementation of QMS.

QMS provides several core elements and core processes that will be used for quality development and assurance:

• Quality Framework for Schools (QF): defines essential characteristics of school quality and serves as the binding basis for QMS and a common understanding of the main characteristics of successful teaching and learning.

• School development plan (SEP): is valid for 3 years. However, it is a dynamic tool and can/should be modified repeatedly, for example due to changing parameters.

• Q Manual: contains a school’s central documents and processes. It provides school management and teaching staff with an overview of the school´s quality management and serves as a working tool and orientation for teaching staff and school management.

• Balance sheet and target agreement interviews (BZG): A BZG takes place every three years between the school management and the school supervision (i.e. the school quality manager). This is based on the current SEP and the Q Manual.

• Internal school evaluation: Internal evaluation measures are to be implemented at each school site, for which the Ministry of Education will provide instruments and supporting materials (IQES online).

• External school evaluation

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Quality development and assurance of QMS

Further development and quality assurance of QMS is being supported by a scientific sounding board. Moreover, structures and processes of QMS as well as QMS instruments and their use are evaluated regularly, and feedback of users is foreseen.

A quality management system for school supervision is currently under development. Since July 2024 a quality framework for the pedagogical service is published.

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Support system

The website www.qms.at contains comprehensive information and materials (explanatory videos, guidelines, templates with completion aids, practical examples for the use of the QMS tools, etc.). Since 2024 there is a newsletter (QMS Post) that can be subscribed. It appears quarterly and contains news on qms.at, contributions of different stakeholders and multiplier groups, contributions of the ministry as well as specific literature and events.

The digital working and learning platform IQES online is available to all schools. It supports internal school evaluation and feedback in QMS and provides high-quality materials for school and teaching development.

The school quality coordinators (Q-SK) should approach regional quality coordinators (Q-RK) for questions about QMS. Both the Q-RK and those teacher educators at the university colleges of teacher education who focus on QMS topics are grouped together in nationwide networks, which enable the exchange of information and experience as well as supra-regional coordination. University colleges of teacher education and universities alike offer a large number of QMS related advanced professional training courses for specific target groups, and the focus of these is regularly adapted to current requirements. School development advisors are also available via the university colleges of teacher education.

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Educational monitoring

An essential foundation of quality assurance and development is the analysis, interpretation and processing of relevant data and facts. The Federal Institute for Quality Assurance in the Austrian School System (IQS), which emerged from the Federal Institute for Educational Research, Innovation & Development of the Austrian School System (BIFIE), plays a central role in education monitoring.

Its core tasks include

• participation in education monitoring and quality assurance measures, in particular in national and international performance measurements and student surveys

• participation in quality development in the school system

• carrying out analyses and providing evidence for educational policy decisions and for school administration

• participation in education reporting in connection with the national education report.

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The IQS is involved in both international and national data collection activities:

• it conducts the international studies PISA, PIRLS, TIMSS and TALIS to collect national data on student performance and for comparison with other countries.

• The individual competence measurement PLUS (iKMPLUS) is an instrument for recording subject-related and interdisciplinary competences of students. The iKMPLUS can be divided into individual compulsory and voluntary modules that are specifically adapted to the respective requirements of primary and secondary level schools. The individual iKMPLUS modules are used to create a comprehensive data basis for pedagogical work, school development, quality management and educational monitoring.

• IQS has developed the measuring instrument for analysing competence in German (MKA-D) on behalf of the Ministry of Education. This is a standardised measurement procedure for determining the German language competence of children and young people with German as a second language.

• To support class teachers in dealing with linguistic diversity in everyday school life, the IQS developed the procedure ‘Unterrichtsbegleitende Sprachstandsbeobachtung, Profilanalysen und Sprachbildung’ (USB PluS) to determine the oral language skills of students at primary school level.

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Another important task of the IQS is the National Education Report. Since its first edition in 2009, the National Education Report (NBB) has been published every three years and has focussed on data, facts and problems relating to the education system. This has created a comprehensive basis for the education policy discussion and management of the Austrian school system. With the National Education Report 2021, the responsibilities as well as the structure and content of the report have been redesigned. On the one hand, it builds on the previous editions (2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018), and on the other hand, it fulfils the requirement set out in Section 5 para. 3 of the Education Directorates Establishment Act (BD-EG) to present ‘a national education controlling report prepared on the basis of the school quality reports of the education directorates as part of the National Education Report’. Since then, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) has also been responsible for the coordination, publication and submission to the National Council.

In addition to the NBB, education reporting is also carried out via the IQS indicator database. This includes statistical information generated in national (educational standards review) and international performance surveys (PIRLS, TIMSS, PISA).

QA measures in dual VET

Dual VET, in which practical learning phases in training companies alternate with theoretical learning phases in vocational schools, is also characterised by “dual governance structure”: the Ministry of Economic Affairs is responsible for the company-based part of training, the Ministry of Education for the school-based part. While the same QA instruments and processes apply to the school-based part that are also used for the other types of school at the upper secondary level (see A and C), there are separate QA measures for the company-based part and for the final examination. The **most important QA measures** include (see also online description and brochure):

Accreditation: Companies that want to train apprentices are obliged to apply for accreditation with the regional Apprenticeship Office. An Apprenticeship Office is located in each of the nine provinces at the site of the regional Economic Chamber. However, it operates on behalf of the Ministry of Economy. Together with the Chamber of Labour, the Apprenticeship Office has to check if the company meets the legally required prerequisites for training, that is, if it

- is legally entitled to carry out the activities in which the apprentice is to be trained,
- is equipped in a way that the apprentice can acquire all learning outcomes included in the competence profile,
- employs a qualified apprenticeship trainer.

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Qualification of apprenticeship trainers: To safeguard the quality of company-based training, the work of IVET trainers requires an occupation-specific qualification that is relevant for the respective apprenticeship and proof of knowledge and skills related to vocational pedagogy and training-relevant laws. This knowledge is proven in the course of the IVET trainer exam. The examination is waived for people who have completed the forty-hour IVET trainer course.

Clearing Office for apprenticeship-leave examination: The apprenticeship-leave examination aims to establish whether the candidate has acquired the knowledge and skills required for the respective apprenticeship and is able to carry out the activities particular for the occupation in an appropriate manner. With the establishment of the Clearing Office in 2012, an important instrument of quality assurance for the apprenticeship-leave exam was created. The Clearing Office issues a quality seal for suitable examination assignments (i.e. assignments in line with the examination directive and the descriptors of level 4 of the NQF to which dual VET qualifications are allocated), materials and standards for the training of examiners of the apprenticeship-leave exam, and suggestions for the further development of exam modalities. The aim of the Clearing Office is to guarantee a uniform and valid standard for the apprenticeship-leave exams across Austria.

Quality Management in Apprenticeship (QML): This initiative was launched by the social partners in 2013. It aims to ensure that even more young people complete an apprenticeship and pass the apprenticeship-leave exam – without lowering the level of the exams. QML builds on annually evaluated indicators which supply information about the attainment of two major targets: the share of apprenticeship dropouts and the share of apprenticeship-leave exams passed successfully. The set of data is supplied by a report that is drawn up annually by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and includes rates of apprenticeship graduates, the rates of apprentices who sit the final exam, and success rates of the apprenticeship-leave exam, broken down by apprenticeship occupations and other characteristics. On the basis of this report measures are agreed on which address possible causes and aim to increase the apprenticeship success rates without lowering the training quality.

**Report on the situation of youth employment and apprenticeship training in Austria**: Every other year, the Ministry of Economy is obliged to submit a report on the situation of youth employment and apprenticeship training in Austria to the National Parliamentary Council. In accordance with the Vocational Training Act, this report is to show how the legal basis and the measures taken in the reporting period have affected dual VET, in particular whether and to what extent there has been an increase in the number of young people in training and in the number of available apprenticeship posts. Furthermore, it has to show if there has been a quantitative and qualitative expansion of IVET in general as well as an improvement in the professional prospects of young people and how the need for skilled workers in Austrian companies has developed. In addition, the number of apprenticeships that were ended early following a mediation process must be indicated.

**Training guides** **and training documentation**: Depending on the respective quality management system, every company applies its own measures to guarantee the quality of training. In their work, companies are provided with support through a large number of information materials, brochures and websites, most of which are financed by the Ministry of Economy and the Austrian Economic Chambers. For example, there is a wide range of job-specific training guidelines and training documentation materials that support companies in their everyday training and serve to ensure the quality of training at the same time. These guidelines comprise instructions for the practical implementation of the job description in the company. Experienced trainers offer suggestions and examples of how complex contents can be imparted.