New article:
Unpaid internships are a growing concern among young people in vocational higher schools (BHS) and most at vocational middle schools (BMS), according to recent research by the Austrian Institute for Vocational Education Research (ÖIBF). The study, which surveyed 7,675 respondents, found that 14 percent of young people are not paid for their work and seven percent only receive pocket money or a mixture of income and pocket money. Among BMS students, one fifth are not paid, and one in ten received no employment contract or were unclear about their terms.
The study also revealed that socially disadvantaged young people reported worse conditions and more difficulties in finding internships. Depending on the type of school, compulsory internships last between four and 32 weeks, with the majority completed during the summer holidays. While working conditions were rated positively in some sectors like IT/Telecommunications and Construction/Building Services, they were deemed unfavorable in areas such as tourism and gastronomy, trade, and sales.
In response to these findings, the Austrian Chamber of Labor (AK) has called for an end to unpaid internships. They have urged the Ministry of Education to explicitly include internship requirements within the curriculum, ensure that only internships within an employment relationship are acknowledged, increase awareness about labor rights among young people, introduce mandatory salaries for internships, make the internship search process easier, and consider converting compulsory internships into voluntary ones in certain areas.
The AK’s emphasis is on improving conditions in tourism to tackle the shortage of skilled workers. This includes providing attractive working conditions such as no overtime hours and accommodation cost reimbursement. The AK also recommends creating regional and central internship exchanges to facilitate the search process and reduce difficulties for young people seeking internships.
Overall, it is crucial that we address this issue to ensure fairness and equality for all young people undergoing compulsory vocational training.
