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In Austria, binding training objectives are defined for the company-based part of dual training (approximately 70-80 per cent of total training time), but there are scarcely any normative specifications on how these are to be achieved and there is no systematic quality assurance of the practice. The conditions under which vocational training occurs in the company have also scarcely been studied scientifically. Against this background, two surveys (of training companies and apprentices) were used to empirically investigate how vocational learning is specifically designed in Austrian training companies. The results show that the Austrian dual apprenticeship training model can be described primarily as a model of youth employment and secondarily as a training model. But it addresses the two goals of social participation and skill acquisition in an interlocked way. The variance of designs of the company practice is closely linked to the differing motives of the training companies. Based on these results, conclusions are drawn for vocational training policy, educational practice and relevant research, which take up the empirical connection found between a work design conducive to learning and the concrete company design of apprenticeship.