Responsible bodies

Early childhood education and care (ECEC)

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.

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

Primary and secondary school education

This partition focuses on QA measures of programmes on the primary and secondary levels. In the first part the main actors and entities involved in QA are briefly referred to. In the second part approaches and methods of QA (both internal and external) are described:

1. first, those that are implemented at both levels and in all programme types (general and vocational education);
2. second, measures that are used in general education programmes only;
3. third, measure used in school-based VET programmes
4. and fourth, measures used in dual VET programmes.

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 below):

• 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. 

Approaches and methods for quality assurance

Early childhood education and care (ECEC)

Since elementary educational institutions are the responsibility of the provinces, the provinces are also responsible for quality assurance. Since there are only a few reports on concrete measures and their effectiveness from the federal states, it is not possible to give a general overview (see National report on education in Austria 2018, NBB volume 1, p. 193f). In the following, selected external QA measures and initiatives that are used throughout Austria are described. 

External Quality Assurance

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.

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.

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

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. 

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.

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 are listed here.

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 

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. 

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 National report on education in Austria 2018, NBB volume 1, p. 195), 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.). 

Primary and secondary school education

Quality assurance in primary and secondary schools is currently (as of November 2020) going through a process of change that began with the passing of the Education Reform Act in September 2017 and has not yet been completed (cf. also the white paper “Controlling the School System in Austria” of the Ministry of Education). All measures that are planned within the new quality assurance regime will be implemented by 2022 according to the current planning status.

The following QA measures have been or are being implemented in all types of school programmes:

1. Realignment of the school supervision
2. External school evaluation
3. Quality framework
4. Quality management for schools (QMS)
5. Educational monitoring 

Realignment of the 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 a systematic educational monitoring (cf. below) as well as through external evaluation of the schools (cf. below) 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 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 provinces. In each province a Board of Education comprising one or more education regions 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 controls the quality management in the schools, coordinates the regional educational offers and provides educational consultancy and support services.
• The presidential department controls the use of resources with the support of the pedagogical service unit, administers the federal and privincial teachers in all educational regions and provides support services for students and teachers and parents.

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 control of regional educational planning
• participation in school type and location-related school development
• ongoing quality controlling
• 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

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. 

External school evaluation

In order to minimise conflicts of interest due to the interlinking of quality management and quality controlling functions of the school supervision team, an external school evaluation was introduced in 2022. In this evaluation, the quality is assessed using transparent criteria (quality indicators) and empirically well-founded methods. The indicators relate to school processes and organisational structures as well as to conditions for good teaching.

The external school evaluation is intended to serve evidence-based control and be an important pillar of educational controlling. Specifically, it should

• support quality management at the school location (development function),
• provide evidence on the quality and impact of school processes (organisation, teaching) for quality development at system level, among others, by recording effective measures (educational monitoring), and
• support the implementation of the new quality framework for schools (cf. below).

Before the Austria-wide introduction of this instrument a pilot phase was foreseen. Until January 2021, the pilot methods and instruments were finalised (with the support of the Federal Institute for Quality Assurance in the Austrian School System, IQS) and school evaluators were recruited and trained. During the pilot phase a total of about 60 to 70 schools (large and small schools, schools with a high share of people with a mother language other than German) were involved on a voluntary basis. After implementing improvements as a result of the pilot phase, the external evaluation will be rolled out across Austria.

In the future around 100 to 150 schools should be evaluated each year. These schools can be selected randomly. Alternatively, school heads can request an evaluation themselves, or the evaluation can be suggested by the school supervision team. 

Quality framework

The starting point for the realignment of QA in Austrian schools is the quality framework, which has been developed under the auspices of the Ministry of Education since the Education Reform Act entered into force in September 2017. It has been implemented as of January 2021. This framework should contribute to a common understanding of what “good quality” means for all school types and all governance levels. Furthermore, it should serve as an orientation for systematic school and teaching development. The framework defines criteria for good schools in five quality dimensions. Four of these dimensions are process dimensions:

• quality management,
• leadership and management,
• learning and teaching,
• school partnership and external relations.
• The fifth dimension is a result dimension in which the results to be achieved and the effects of school education work are mapped.

In order to describe relevant aspects of school quality in these dimensions, each dimension is divided into quality areas. Each area is specified in terms of content by an introductory core message and quality criteria.

The quality framework forms the central basis for all processes and tools within the new quality management regime for schools (see below) as well as for the development of educational monitoring (see below). 

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. Two management systems were in use: SQA for general education programmes, QIBB for VET programmes.

The Education Reform Act 2017 has created the legal basis for SQA and QIBB to be merged into one quality management system, applicable to all school types. Quality management system for schools (QMS) is this QM system, which has been implemented step-by-step since the school year 2021/22.

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) about the quality of school 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 the 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:

• School development plan (SEP): This should be drawn up annually for each school for the following school year.
• Balance sheet and target agreement interviews (BZG): A BZG takes place annually between the school management and the school supervision (i.e. the school quality manager). The basis for this is the current SEP and the associated target agreements.
• Internal school quality assessment (siQE): Internal evaluation measures are to be implemented at each school site, for which the Ministry of Education will provide instruments and supporting materials.
• External school evaluation

In the course of the implementation of QMS, not only comprehensive information and materials (e.g. handouts, explanatory videos, practical implementation examples) will be available on the school quality website. For school heads and teachers there will also be QMS-specific in-service training. In addition, QM-specific content will be implemented as a regular part of pre-service teacher training programmes. 

Educational monitoring

Evidence-based research, i.e. the collection, analysis and interpretation of relevant data and facts, is essential for quality assurance and development. 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, plays a central role in educational monitoring. Its core tasks include:

• participating in educational monitoring and quality assurance measures, especially in national and international assessment programmes
• participating in quality development processes at the school system level
• conducting studies and gathering evidence for educational policy decisions and school governance
• contributing to the national educational controlling report.

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

• IQS carries out the international students assessment programmes PISA, PIRLS, TIMSS and TALIS in Austria in order to collect data on Austrian students and compare the results with other countries.
• With the Informal Competence Assessment (IKM), IQS offers teachers in primary and secondary schools an instrument to evaluate their own teaching. This instrument provides information about the learning status of the whole class as well as the level of competence of each individual student.
• IQS has so far also been involved in the testing of the educational standards (BIST) at the end of the primary and secondary 1 level. This testing aimed to objectively determine whether and to what extent pupil at these levels achieved the desired competencies and how the level of competencies of the pupils corresponded the desired target (i.e. to the educational standards). BIST and IKM are currently being further developed into the new instrument called Individual Competence Assessment Plus (iKM Plus). This instrument of performance assessment should serve to diagnose the competence level of students at a certain point in time and help teachers in their individual support. In addition, it should create a database for QMS and the monitoring of the education system. According to the current planning status iKM Plus should be used across the whole country as of the school year 2021/22.
• On behalf of the Ministry of Education, IQS developed MIKA, a standardised measurement procedure for determining the competence level in German of learners with German as a second language.
• To support teachers in dealing with the linguistic diversity in the classroom, IQS developed the process “class-accompanying language level monitoring, profile analysis and language training” (USB PluS) to determine the oral language competence of pupils at the primary level.

Another important task of IQS is educational reporting. So far, the National Education Report (NBB) has been published every three years (2012, 2015 and 2018) since its first edition in 2009 and has addressed data, facts and challenges relating to the Austrian education system. This created a comprehensive basis for educational policy discussions and monitoring of the Austrian school system. As of 2021, the NBB is to include a national educational controlling report that will be based on school quality reports from the Boards of Education. The NBB 2021 was published in December 2021.

In addition to the NBB, educational reporting is also done via the IQS indicator database. This database includes statistical information generated in national (educational standard 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 for Labour and Economy 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 before and before), there are separate QA measures for the company-based part and for the final examination. The most important QA measures: (see website 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 for Labour and 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.
• 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 for Labour and 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 for Labour and 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.