Educational Integration of Ethnic Minorities - Austria

Source: Berufsförderungsinstitut

The Bfi is one of the largest employee-oriented institution for vocational and continuous training. It is commissioned with a lot of projects for the unemployed by the Austrian labour market authority of Vienna. It also offers a wide range of vocational training courses.

The main principle of the Bfi Vienna is that everyone has the right to education. Bfi Wien offers an integrated qualification at the personal and vocational level. The main objectives of the courses are the reintegration of unemployed persons, vocational and social advancement and the protection of jobs.

For more than 10 years the Bfi Vienna offers qualifying courses for ethnic minorities, a group of persons who are often discriminated because of their ethnic status, their culture, their religion, their poor knowledge of German, their lack of education, their profession or unemployment.

According to ethnic minorities, social integration corresponds a lot with vocational integration. Communication skills are seen as a precondition for vocational integration. Therefore, at the very beginning of integration projects, priority was given to improve the knowledge of German.

The Bfi presented 9 of the most important projects concerning the educational integration of ethnic minorities. These will briefly be listed here. Further information on these and other projects can be obtained through the Bfi in Vienna.

1. SINTEGRA (=Social INTEGRAtion) - A training course for integration and job orientation.
   Contents: German and Business German, Austrian history, Assistance by social workers, support in obtaining accreditation of previous educational degrees from homeland.
2. IDO (=Integration Durch Orientierung) - Integration through orientation.
   Contents: Counselling, social orientation and information about the labour market, communication, job seeking and practical work experience.
3. INTAKT (=Integration and contact)
   Contents: Computer courses in mixed classes (migrant and native-born students), personal skills, empowerment, political education, telephone skills.
4. Work and Learn - Training in the building trades. The trainers are unemployed Austrian craftsmen who serve as employers or foremen on real building projects that the municipality commissions and finances the materials.
5. Vocational Courses for unemployed youths
   Contents: Training in various social and daily skills, communication skills, personal competency and life planning, German as a foreign language, practical work experience, foreign languages, mathematics, IT, economics as well as attending further the ordinary college in their chosen field.
6. Jobstart
   Contents: Apprentice education in contrast to the traditional dual system of combined schooling and apprenticeship. Jobstart, known in other countries such as Denmark and Sweden, is a trial measure at the Bfi Wien. Most of the training takes place in the firm.
7. Model company: ÜFA
   Contents: A model company fulfils the same tasks and procedures as a real firm; advertising, buying and selling. The only difference is that no real products are produced and real money is not exchanged. The model firm is equipped with modern technology and telecommunication. Special German classes for foreigners are offered.
8. Final exams for the secondary elementary school for adults and youths
9. Integrative activities at the business school:
   Contents: Team teaching and inter-cultural learning, Turkish and Bosnian language clubs, courses in various foreign mother tongues, bilingual library, intercultural activities and guest speakers, partnership with schools in Slovakia, Czech and Hungary, business language courses in Turkish and Bosnian, Serbo-Croatian.

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