BFI Wien - Who we are

BFI Wien stands for Berufsförderungsinstitut Wien (in English: Vocational Training Institute Vienna). We are one of the leading providers of vocational and adult training in Austria. BFI Wien was established by the Federal Chamber of Labour and the Austrian Trade Union Federation in 1959.

Our services  provide access to further professional qualification and personal development for employed and  unemployed persons. Our training courses are designed to result in professional and social success, security of employment and re-integration into the labour market.

BFI Wien is a contracting partner for the Austrian National Employment Service (AMS) and contributes to the implementation of the Austrian active labour market policy.

BFI Wien also provides a wide range of adult education / life-long learning opportunities, tailor-made to labour market requirements, for individuals seeking to obtain new skills as well as for specific in-company trainings. 

We employ about 650 permanent staff and more than 1.000 freelance staff (e.g. trainers). About 40.000 participants attend our trainings and courses per year, consuming more than 600.000 units of training.

Training services and target groups

BFI Wien training services target youth and adults interested in improving their status in the labour market. For unemployed persons, BFI Wien provides services under the national active labour market policy. Other training services target employed individuals or groups interested in skills upgrading or referred by companies under tailor-made training courses. In addition, BFI operates a commercial school (secondary level vocational education) and a university of applied sciences (tertiary level vocational education).
 

BFI activities related to active labour market policy

In pursuit of the national active labour market policy and the government training guarantee scheme, the Austrian National Employment Service (AMS) offers various measures aimed at unemployed persons. Some measures may have very specific target groups defined by age, qualification and/or specific needs.

BFI Wien is a major implementing partner of AMS, providing services such as vocational reorientation, job placement support and training in a wide array of qualifications and occupational fields.

A major focus of BFI Wien is on provision of specific vocational and technical training, based on the Austrian dual system (i.e. the combination of theoretical training in part-time vocational schools with practical training through private sector apprenticeships), in dedicated vocational training centres. For this purpose BFI Wien operates one of the largest vocational training centers in Austria.

To meet the latest labour market and public employment policy requirements, BFI Wien updates the areas of training and curricula on annual basis, in coordination with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Economy.

 

BFI activities related to adult education and life-long learning

The Austrian life-long learning strategy (LLL: 2020) was passed in 2011, resulting from an extensive consultation process between all relevant stakeholders (various ministries, social partners, educational institutions, civil society). Corner stone of the strategy are 10 lines of action addressing learning related challenges in all phases of life - from pre-school to post-occupational learning.

In the framework of the Austrian life-long learning strategy BFI Wien implements a comprehensive set of training courses, leading to increased employability and certified qualifications. These services are mainly offered in evening and weekend classes to meet the requirements of our clients.

Several hundred different courses are available every year to cater to the professional needs of BFI Wien's customers. Courses are offered in areas such as management, marketing, languages, media, ICT, soft skills, health, tourism and hospitality, logistics and transport, facility management, security and technical fields.

Formal secondary and teritiary level education at BFI Wien'

• Fachhochschule des BFI Wien (University of  Applied Sciences of BFI Wien) 
  The Fachhochschule des BFI Wien (FH BFI Vienna) was the first university of Applied Sciences in Austria under § 14a FHStG (Universities of Applied Sciences Act). With our range of degree programmes we offer academically well-founded tertiary level professional education. A total of 23 Bachelor's and Master's degree courses are offered in full-time or part-time mode, and special arrangements are in place to facilitate the admission of persons without formal university entrance qualification into Bachelor's courses.

  The aim of FH BFI Vienna is to form internationally competent specialists and managers in fields such as Work Design and HR Management, International Banking and Finance, European Economy and Business Management, Logistics and Transport Management, Project Management and Information Technology, Technical Sales and Distribution.

• Kaufmännische Schulen des BFI Wien (Commercial School of BFI Wien)
  For more than 35 years, the commercial school of BFI Wien offers formal secondary level vocational education leading to a commercial qualification. The three year course leads to a vocational diploma, the five year course leads to a combined vocational diploma and university entrance qualification. The focus of the five year course is on entrepreneurship and management.In addition, the Commercial School of BFI Wien offers evening courses for persons already in employment, optionally in combination with distance-learning modules.

   

Other subsidiaries of BFI Wien

• Job-TransFair
  Job-TransFair was established in 2001. The main purpose of Job-TransFair is the leasing of personnel on a non-profit basis, as an effective means to permanently (re-) integrate job-seekers at the fringes of the labour market. Prior to entering a personnel leasing arrangement, participants receive tailored training, coaching and psychosocial counselling. The idea and methodology of Job-TransFair was developed in close collaboration with the Austrian National Employment Service and is based on national labour market and VET strategies. 

International Cooperation of BFI Wien

BFI Wien runs an International Department responsible for initiating, co-ordinating and managing international projects under European budget lines, such as Erasmus+, European Fund for Regional Development, Horizon 2020 or EuropeAid.

 
Specific expertise of the International Department:

• Project planning
• Project management
• Human resource management (experts)
• VET/TVET technical capacity, e.g. related to curricula, teaching and learning materials, management of VET/TVET schools, occupational guidance, course design, etc.

Services the International Department offers:

• Project development, elaboration of project proposals
• Capacity in form of reference projects
• Identification of qualified and experienced experts
• Human resource management (experts)
• Identification of specific capacity through our wide-ranging international network
• Support in the development of tailored courses and curricula
• Capacity in form of up-to-date teaching and learning materials
• Organization of study visits

 

References and contact

BFI Wien regularly participates in international projects, mainly as partner organisation or capacity provider. If you would like to partner with BFI Wien, we would be happy to hear from you!

We can offer references for successfully completed projects in the following domains: 

• Provision of VET and TVET, management of large vocational training centers
• Provision of services pertaining to active labour market policy 
• Provision of further education, adult education, life-long learning measures
• VET and TVET reform
• Modernisation of curricula and training materials
• Provision of secondary education in commercial fields
• Provision of tertiary education in selected areas

Please contact us if:

• You are a company engaged in international VET/TVET projects and would like to collaborate with us
• You are a public institution interested in BFI Wien expertise
• You are a VET expert with international experience and would like to be listed in our expert database and/or receive information about available expert positions

Berufsförderungsinstitut Wien
Abteilung Internationale Projekte
c/o Ulla Sever
Alfred-Dallinger-Platz 1
1034 Wien
Email: bfi.int@bfi.wien

Further Interesting Links

Description of the Austrian Education System
Video on apprenticeship training in Austria – dual system 
Federal Chamber of Labour Austria
Austrian Trade Union Federation 

Current projects funded through Erasmus+

• Workplacement VIII
• Success with technical language

Recently completed international projects include:

• Game Based Training
• Workplacement VII
• Staff training - ECVET, Integration of Migrants and Digitalization in the Adult Training Sector
• Video Systems in Education (ViSE)
• Refuskills
• Five by Five
  • EPALE Article: The “Reality Check” – suggestion guides for the implementation of Second Language and Competence Check Trainings
• SoCoT: Social Competence Training and other Supporting Measures in Newly Developed Training Courses
• Skillstube
• Malta VET Reform: Expert Services to Design Syllabi, Teaching and Learning Resources and Production of Course Packs of MCAST Levels 1, 2 and 3 Courses and the Pathway Programme
• TÁMASZ: Expansion of the Social Service Network along the Austrian-Hungarian Border
• Development of Awareness on European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training
• Methods of Evaluating the Quality of Training Tools and Programs on Career Guidance and Counselling for Vocational Education Students
• You Promote Business
• MADE IN JAIL - "Winner of the 2010 European Award for Lifelong Learning in the category Leonardo da Vinci"
• AT-HU ISA: An Austrian-Hungarian Project for the Integration of Disadvantaged Students into the Labour Market in the Frame of the Dual Training
• 50+ Innovative Coaching
• NÁRCISZ: Programme for Hospice Care along the Austrian-Hungarian border
• Clever Tools - New Skills for Jobs
• Digi4Adults
• WORKPLACEMENT VI
• Digitalized Learning Path for Educational Organizations