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m Umgang mit gesellschaftlichen Transformationsprozessen und strukturellen Veränderungen am Arbeitsmarkt kommt beruflicher und betrieblicher Weiterbildung eine zentrale Rolle zu. Trotz vielfältiger bildungspolitischer Bemühungen zeigt sich in Bezug auf Weiterbildungsteilnahme allerdings nach wie vor das Prinzip der „doppelten Selektivität“, wonach Personen mit höherem Bildungsabschluss auch häufiger weiterbildungsaktiv sind. Der Beitrag untersucht jene bisher nicht ausreichend erforschten betrieblichen und beschäftigungsbezogenen Aspekte, welche Weiterbildungschancen im betrieblichen Kontext befördern bzw. vermindern. Die Daten einer aktuellen Erhebung bei Beschäftigten in Niederösterreich zeigen, dass die Teilnahme an Weiterbildung z.B. vom betrieblichen Weiterbildungsmanagement und von der beschäftigungsbezogenen Position der Mitarbeiter*innen im Unternehmen abhängig ist. (Red.)

Abstract Since 2008, the Austrian Vocational Training Act has given young people the opportunity to obtain vocational qualifications in supra-company training workshops. In addition to the traditional full-time vocational school system and company-based apprenticeship training, a third vocational qualification path has thus been established. This article presents empirical findings on this innovation in skill formation and examines the question of whether conditions for the sustainable establishment of a third pillar for acquiring vocational qualifications are given with regard to regulatory, normative, and cultural cognitive dimensions.

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.