Participation in training made statutorily mandatory in Austria as part of reform to the transition between school and work

In August 2016, Austria introduced a law making attendance at school or participation in training mandatory up until the age of 18 (Mandatory Training Act). This forms a central component of the innovative “Training and Education to 18” programme, which introduces extensive reform measures in the fields of prevention, intervention and compensation with the goal of ensuring that all young people in Austria complete initial training wherever possible. The article provides an introduction to the background to the reforms and describes the objectives pursued, the implementation of the measures and associated expectations.