Austrian rail operator ÖBB will create 300 additional apprenticeship places between 2025 and 2027 as part of a special package aimed at expanding vocational training capacities. The measure comes in the context of an increasing shortage of skilled personnel, caused by generational change and the growth in activity in the rail sector.
The program was presented at the ÖBB training workshop in St. Pölten, in the presence of representatives of the federal government and company management, and provides for an annual increase of 100 apprenticeship places compared to the initial plan.
Record number of apprentices and expansion of training capacities
In September 2025, ÖBB recorded a record level of recruitment, with 760 apprentices starting vocational training within the company, 100 more than originally planned.
According to the operator, around 25% of the new apprentices are women, an indicator of efforts to diversify the workforce in technical railway fields.
To support this growth, ÖBB will expand and modernize its training workshops in Vienna, Graz, St. Pölten, and Linz.
The investments target both infrastructure and training equipment so that training capacity can be adapted to the growing demand for specialists.
Additional funding and government support
The apprenticeship package benefits from additional funding of around EUR 5 million from the Ministry of Transport, which is added to the existing training budgets.
The funds are earmarked, among other things, for increasing workshop capacity, apprentice remuneration, work and training equipment, and the hiring of additional trainers.
Austrian Transport Minister Peter Hanke emphasized that the investment aims to secure the workforce needed for the transition to more sustainable mobility in a budgetary context marked by pressure and fiscal consolidation.
A response to generational change in the rail sector
According to ÖBB, the company is undergoing a major generational change, which will require the recruitment of around 4,100 new employees per year in the coming period, particularly in technical and specialized rail professions.
In this context, internal training is considered a key tool for maintaining operational capacity and supporting investment programs in infrastructure and rolling stock.
“If you don’t train apprentices today, you won’t have specialists tomorrow,” said the company’s management, emphasizing the strategic role of vocational training in ensuring the continuity of railway operations.
ÖBB, one of Austria’s largest training providers
Currently, around 2,300 young people are undergoing vocational training within the ÖBB Group, making the company one of Austria’s largest apprenticeship providers and a leader in technical training.
Graduates of the apprenticeship programs are subsequently integrated into the operation, maintenance, and development of the railway system, contributing directly to the functioning of the network.
ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä said that expanding the apprenticeship program allows the company to offer more young people access to stable training and long-term career prospects in a rapidly changing sector.
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