A SECURE FUTURE FOR COMPANIES: Experiences of dual education in Austria

THE LACK of skilled workers and high unemployment are problems that burden even the most developed economies and will certainly represent the biggest challenges in the next few years.

The best answer to that, but also securing the future for both qualified staff and companies, is dual practice-oriented education based on the needs of the labor market. In Austria, dual education offers many career opportunities – as many as 24 percent of managers and about 32 percent of self-employed people have completed this type of education!

In Austrian companies, the path from dual education to corporate governance is very realistic and often occurs in practice. Managers who have completed dual education are very familiar with the essence of business and can better understand the processes and thus improve them. The Serbian model of dual education is being successfully implemented and rapidly developed, and if it continues at this pace, there is a great chance that all the benefits will be realized, as in Austria.

A functioning dual education system can sometimes be an important factor in encouraging foreign company investment. In addition to the availability of professional staff, the level of professional knowledge is also crucial – feedback from Austrian companies in Serbia confirms this.

In the annual surveys of Austrian branches in Serbia, the topic of qualified personnel, in terms of their availability and professional knowledge, is becoming increasingly important. The secret of the success of dual education lies, among other things, in the good interaction between education and the economy.

The Austrian Chamber of Commerce is involved in training as an important player who is legally responsible for the entire administration of student training, including the professional final exam, offers companies services that support their training and represents their interests. The Serbian Chamber of Commerce has also successfully undertaken many activities in this regard.

Together with the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia and the Institute for the Advancement of Education and Upbringing, in recent years we have worked intensively on the implementation of the Law on Dual Education in Serbia. The high participation of students, companies and schools shows the first successes.

The experiences of companies, schools and especially students in the first few years, also show the future fields in which they will work, and that is that students should be given the opportunity for an expanded career guidance program and trial days in companies to better understand their capacities, talents and pre-career interests.

Improvements in the process of making it easier for students and companies to match are also important.

Good solutions are needed to enable even small companies to actively participate in dual education. Learning through work – a recipe for the success of dual education, needs to be further developed and expanded – with longer training in the company and flexibility. Of course, schools, as central partners, also need strong support in this process.