Jugend am Werk - English Information

Jugend am Werk (“Youth at Work”) was founded in 1945, immediately after the Second World War, at a time when educational and employment structures had largely collapsed.

The objectives and nature of the organisation soon changed, however, surely as a result of Austria’s economic upswing. New focal points emerged to replace the challenges of reconstruction and education in schools, in the form of high-quality vocational training and qualifications for disadvantaged young people. At the end of the 1950’s, Jugend am Werk started supporting people with intellectual or multiple disabilities at home and at work too.

Today, the objective of JaW is to ensure that disadvantaged individuals can lead independent, fulfilling lives without dependence on others. For young people who cannot find apprenticeships, we provide high-quality vocational training; for people with disabilities, we provide individual support.

Today, JaW trains about 1.700 young men and women per year who have been unable to find an apprenticeship on the open job market and offers a wide range of courses for vocational training and qualifications:

• The workshops and vocational training centres for young people offer apprentice-training courses for vocational training in a large number of professions. In addition to that, apprentices from other companies can also complete certain training modules in JaW’s workshops within the framework of “inter-company apprenticeship training”.
• For disadvantaged or disabled young people, JaW offers a scheme called “Integrative Vocational Training”, where it is possible to extend the apprentice training courses, accompanied by special trained “Vocational Training Assistants”.

JaW provides people with intellectual or multiple disabilities with personal support that is necessary to enable them to live as independent as possible:

• About 1.700 women and men with disabilities work at 23 workshops. The activities there form a bridge between work, employment and cultural training. The idea is that people with disabilities should be able to feel that their activity is both productive and meaningful. Additionally, a number of workshops run projects that include earning basic qualifications with the aim of subsequent integration in the working world.
• The prime goal of the activities of the “Integration Accompaniment”, “Work Assistance” and “Job Coaching” programs is mainstream employment for disabled people on the open job market through information, counselling and accompaniment for employees with disabilities as well as their colleagues in the working environment and the companies itself. The “PRIMA DONNA” scheme offers young women with disabilities an appropriate period in which they can mature and get vocational orientation as well as career preparation in small groups.
• Three different housing models; “Accompanied Living”, “Community Living” and “Residential Homes” are run by JaW to provide people with disabilities with the personal support they need for an independent life. Appropriate service is also offered for the elderly and those with greater care requirement.

What are our major concerns / problems / needs?

• Ensure productive work and employment of young people and people with intellectual disability in times of the worldwide economic crisis
• Meaningful activities for people with intellectual disabilities that cannot be integrated on the open job market
• Cutting costs in the social sector
• Strengthening self-empowerment of people with disabilities
• Appropriate service for older people with disabilities and those with greater care requirement
• Adequate housing depending on individual needs