Author
Access to education is the same for beneficiaries as for asylum applicants (see Reception Conditions: Education). However, there is no restriction with regard to apprenticeships for beneficiaries. Refugees can receive a public grant, including support for public transport, in order to study, which is not available for asylum applicants. As of January 2023, all minors, including refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, are under the duty to attend either a higher school, to do an apprenticeship or to prepare for an apprenticeship through other courses (Ausbildungspflicht).[1] The violation of mandatory training is punishable since 18 January, 2023 by a fine ranging from 100 to 1,000 euros in repeated cases.
Although awareness on the difficulties that refugee children experience has increased and more resources are made available, these are not sufficient to support the children in regular schools until they obtain sufficient language proficiency.
In 2023 and ongoing in 2024, the City of Vienna introduced another programme called “Jugendcollege”. It offers education and training programmes especially focused on persons coming from other EU member states and third country nationals. The focus group is people between 15 and 25 years old, and it is accessible for people that have completed 8 years of school and live in Vienna. It promotes language skills in German and English to prepare the persons for a training process upon completion.[2]
In Upper Austria, the Regional government promoted special formation courses for asylum applicants from Syria already during their asylum procedure. In three projects, asylum applicants should already get German classes and training offered directly by companies that are in need of labour force.[3]
[1] Ausbildungspflichtgesetz (ApflG), BGBl. I Nr 120/2016, available here.
[2] Stadt Wien, Jugendcollege, available in German here.
[3] Der Standard, „Asylwerber in Jobs bringen: In Oberösterreich wagt Schwarz-Blau ein erstaunliches Experiment“, 7 April 2024, available in German here.