This section of the Visible Value aims to provide a quick overview of the state of the affairs about the recognition of youth work in the countries covered by EU-CoE Youth Partnership. In total it covers 53 country profiles (including 3 profiles for Belgium and 4 profiles for the UK).

The content in this section is based on several sources, including:

The sources of information are indicated at the end of each profile.

Back Austria

'Child and youth work' refers to a very broad and diverse spectrum of offers and measures in the field of social action. It includes youth education and training measures that are provided outside the formal school education system or the services provided by the public child and youth welfare services. Thus, the term ' extracurricular/out-of-school youth work' has been coined. Child and youth work is a voluntary offer in children and young people's free time, where they are not obliged to participate.

In Austria, out-of-school youth work has a strong emphasis on activities in leisure time and is thereby oriented towards informal and non-formal learning of young people. It sets qualified and planned leisure and socio-pedagogical offers and activities. The primary aim of youth work is to promote the potentials and strengths of young people.

The structures and offers of youth work are as diverse as young people themselves. They range from institutional youth work, and open and associative youth work to youth information, international youth work and initiatives. Within the youth work structures, there is hardly a field of action and topic that is not covered.

On the one hand, youth work implements the contents and objectives of youth policy frameworks. On the other hand, it is a seismograph and translator for the needs, concerns, wishes and demands of young people and thus influences future youth policy strategies. It aims to contribute to the personal development of young people. To this end, it should be linked to the interests of the adolescents and be co-determined and co-designed by them. In this way, young people are empowered to self-determination and encouraged to share responsibility in society and social commitment.

A youth worker is a professionally qualified person who works full-time or volunteers in extra-curricular child and youth work. This definition of youth workers is provided on the website 'Youth Work in Austria' (Jugendarbeit in Österreich). In Austria, different terms are used for people working in child and youth work, such as: specialist in open child and youth work (Fachkraft der Offenen Kinder- und Jugendarbeit), youth information worker (JugendinformationsarbeiterIn), youth worker (JugendarbeiterIn, JugendbetreuerIn), youth leader (JugendleiterIn), and child and youth group leader (Kinder- und JugendgruppenleiterIn).

The qualifications required for youth workers differ according to the setting and nature of their respective jobs. The underlying competences are presented in the 'Competence framework for child and youth work' (Kompetenzrahmen für Kinder- und Jugendarbeit). The competence framework for child and youth work systematically presents and describes at different levels how people act competently in their work in extracurricular child and youth work.

It covers both open youth work as well as children and youth associations in Austria. The Competence Framework is a translation tool from qualifications of child and youth work to the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The NQF makes qualifications visible and comparable by the European Qualifications Framework across Europe. For people in and outside the field, the framework makes clear what people active in youth work do and what quality standards they have. It stimulates the development of key competences which benefits children and young people and motivates the increase of quality of the range of education. People inside the working field are encouraged to networking, co-operations, development and mutual recognition of education.

aufZAQ is a certification of non-formal education and training courses for people active in youth work, provided by the Department of Families and Youth at the Federal Chancellery, the Youth Departments of the Federal States, and the Youth Work Department of the Autonomous Italian Province of Bozen/Bolzano – South Tyrol. aufZAQ has been certifying the quality of trainings since 2003 and has thus been actively contributing to the recognition of non-formal education in the field of youth work. For course participants, the aufZAQ certification is proof of the high quality of educational courses. For employers and institutions of child and youth work, aufZAQ guarantees that the respective course is a high-quality vocational education and training that is strongly oriented towards professional practice. 

aufZAQ developed the Competence Framework for Children and Youth Work. This competence model shows how people act competently in their work in children and youth work. It covers both the open youth work and children and youth work in youth organisations. The Competence Framework (Kompetenzrahmen) is a translation tool from qualifications of children and youth work to the Austrian National Qualifications Framework (NQF). In turn, the NQF makes qualifications visible and comparable through the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) across Europe. In particular, the competence framework is part of the aufZAQ certification.

There is currently no nationwide accreditation of non-formal skills that young people develop in child and youth organisations and transfer to other areas of their life (e.g. pursuing a profession) towards a qualification within the system of formal education.

In order to achieve a greater level of awareness of the value of skills obtained in an informal or non-formal environment as a key addition to formal education, the Department of Families and Youth at the Federal Chancellery is working with specialists in a targeted manner to develop measures. It thereby takes into account the National Qualification Framework, which is an instrument to transparently map qualifications from the Austrian education system in order to support their comparability and comprehensibility throughout Europe.

(From the Youth Wiki)