The apprenticeship model opens up long-term career prospects: On October 21, 2026, more than 6,000 students took advantage of the opportunity at the Career Platform on Heldenplatz to learn about training pathways, job profiles, and career opportunities, and to discover concrete prospects for starting their careers. The information event was organized by the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Defence (BMLV), the City of Vienna, and the Vienna Education Directorate. Over 45 exhibitors – including the Austrian Armed Forces, the Federal Ministry of Education, the City of Vienna, Wiener Stadtwerke (Vienna Public Utilities), and companies such as Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), Austrian Airlines, PORR, Spar, and Hofer – presented more than 70 apprenticeships from a wide variety of sectors.
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Career through apprenticeship: Over 6,000 students at Heldenplatz
The Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence (BMLV), the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF), the City of Vienna and the Vienna Education Directorate are bringing together young people with and without a migration background, offering more than 70 apprenticeships and over 45 exhibitors.
"An apprenticeship is the starting point for young people and opens up diverse career paths. The Austrian Armed Forces also showcases the wide range of apprenticeships and training opportunities it offers on its career platform. We are not only a secure employer, but also provide young people with an impressive variety of apprenticeships: from classic professions like cook or carpenter to specialized professions like weapons mechanic or aircraft technician – we offer over 40 different ways to launch your own career."
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner
“Integration succeeds where people take responsibility, contribute, and stand on their own two feet. A completed apprenticeship and entry into working life are crucial for this. There is still a great need for improvement, especially among young people with a migration background. An apprenticeship offers fantastic opportunities and enables young people to turn their talents and strengths into a career. The ÖIF career platform at Heldenplatz demonstrates the diverse range of career options and the opportunities available to young people.”
Integration Minister Claudia Bauer
"Apprenticeships are a central pillar of our economic success, our social cohesion, and a permeable education system. Together with vocational schools, they form the practical, modern, and future-oriented heart of our education. If we succeed in further developing both businesses and vocational schools as strong learning environments and inspiring even more young people to pursue apprenticeships, we will secure the future of our country – for companies, employees, young people, and thus for society as a whole."
Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr
"All young people should have the opportunity to develop their individual talents and fully exploit their career potential. Vocational schools are established and modern training pathways that open up diverse perspectives. The career platform at Heldenplatz demonstrates that there is something for everyone. On this day, students can also get information and advice from former or current apprentices. These personal contacts make the event special."
Elisabeth Fuchs, Director of Education for Vienna
"An apprenticeship is an opportunity: you receive a solid education, gain professional experience from day one, earn your own money, and have excellent career and earning potential in many professions. Young people especially need to take the next step after school – into vocational training, university studies, or employment. The crucial thing is to take initiative, learn something, and stand on your own two feet. Austria needs young people who want to work, take on responsibility, and build something with their efforts. An apprenticeship offers an excellent path to achieving this."
Franz Wolf, Director of the Austrian Integration Fund
Over 45 exhibitors provide information about apprenticeships and training opportunities.
The career platform at Heldenplatz showcases concrete job profiles and industries to young people with and without a migration background, supporting them in learning about training pathways, exploring career prospects, and directly contacting potential training companies. More than 6,000 students took the opportunity to learn about the wide range of apprenticeships and training opportunities from over 45 exhibitors. These range from technical apprenticeships in electrical engineering, mechatronics, IT, and construction at companies such as the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), the Vienna Public Utilities (Wiener Stadtwerke), PORR, and Vienna Airport, to nursing training at the Vienna Social Fund (Fonds Soziales Wien), aircraft engineering at Austrian Airlines, and commercial apprenticeships at SPAR, HOFER, and METRO.
An apprenticeship opens up diverse career prospects for young people and simultaneously makes an important contribution to reducing the skilled worker shortage in Austria. Two-thirds of the current shortage occupations in Austria can be learned through an apprenticeship. Early career guidance, easily understandable information, and direct contact with training companies are particularly helpful for young people with a migration background, who are underrepresented in apprenticeships, in finding their way within the Austrian education system.
Meeting point for career orientation: Diverse program at Heldenplatz
The program offered practical experiences and inspiration for career decisions: Workshops by the ÖIF initiative ZUSAMMEN:ÖSTERREICH (TOGETHER:AUSTRIA) facilitated discussions on topics such as integration and career entry. To support job applications, visitors could, among other things, have free professional headshots taken and receive advice on their CVs. Stations dedicated to fire safety, vehicles, and equipment provided an opportunity to learn about the tasks and career opportunities within various emergency services, while guided tours of the Museum of Military History highlighted historical and social contexts. A helicopter landing, a vehicle display by the emergency services, and a concert by the Vienna Police Band rounded out the program and made the career platform a meeting place for career orientation. Further information is available at www.karriereplattform.at/heldenplatz .