Stable, but expandable

Stable, but expandable

“The development in the number of apprentices is stable for us,” says Helmuth Hehenberger, who, as Tyrolean state guild master, also holds the position of state apprentice manager. This stability is also due to the 40 to 50 career changers or late entrants who start an apprenticeship as a carpenter every year. “Of course, older apprentices or those who find their way into carpentry through the second educational path are a side effect - but a very important one,” says the Tyrolean. The biographies behind these career decisions are diverse, as are the opportunities beyond “classic” teaching. "There are school dropouts as well as fully trained people who, for example, choose the path of a shortened apprenticeship. Such employment usually comes about through the placement of the employment service or through the Tyrol Labor Foundation. This support is also good in that it is not always easy for the training companies to keep an overview of the changing opportunities," says Hehenberger. In his own company he currently employs a “late-career” who, at the age of 31 and after working for a long time in the municipal administration, is now learning the carpentry trade. “It’s good that these variants exist and the large number of new entrants confirms the value of our craft.” Even if older apprentices who are already fully employed have a different salary schedule than young people, in most cases they earn less than before. This difference is then compensated for by bodies such as the AMS.

Practical support

To provide support during the training, the Tyrolean Guild provides a training folder that contains helpful information for both sides and is sent automatically after the training contract has been signed. "There are a variety of options for training and companies also have a duty here. Because the way in which apprentices are integrated into company activities is a key factor for satisfaction and staying in the job," says Hehenberger, who also knows that it is not always easy to implement everything exactly in day-to-day events: "In my opinion, the folder provides very good support here. It gives an overview of the mandatory teaching content for each year of training. There is Examples that should make it easier to transfer into practice.”

Sufficient businesses

“Every young person who wants to learn the carpentry trade can find a training company in their area,” says Hehenberger, convinced of the good offerings in Tyrol. Of the 1,249 business owners (as of July 31, 2025), around half are manufacturing companies, and around 130 of them are currently training a total of around 329 apprentices every four years. “I know that more companies would like to take on an apprentice but haven’t found a suitable one.” For Hehenberger, two points are striking in the statistics: companies with a wide range of offerings and good machinery find it easier to find young talent than specialists such as: B. Window or door builders - here the apprentices and their parents definitely pre-select them. And: Companies that provide training usually do so several times. Word of mouth among young people is primarily responsible for this: “If an apprentice is happy in his company, he advertises it to his friends – and experience shows that this works best.”

Off to the cinema

Nevertheless, people in Tyrol are also promoting training in other ways - and relying on various pillars. Cinema advertising plays an important role, according to Hehenberger, a relatively inexpensive advertising channel with a wide distribution and very good feedback: “We are starting a new apprentice campaign in the fall, the slogan ‘What makes you proud’, which focused on special journeyman pieces, will now be followed in the fall by ‘What makes you happy?’”. Other measures include the “Attention Construction Site” campaign and the poster campaign, which is used to bring successful apprentices and their training companies to the forefront in competitions, as well as the early promotion of young talent as part of the Tischler Trophy.

Successful model Tischler Trophy

In order to make crafts visible to young people at an early age, this successful model is also used in Upper Austria: entire middle school classes in the seventh grade design and produce pieces together in craft lessons, with the support of a patron carpenter."In Upper Austria, around twenty schools have been taking part every year for nine years. As a result of the project, many apprentices have already been recruited," reports Claudia Hindinger, regional apprentice manager in Upper Austria. In addition, some district offices of the Chamber of Commerce are organizing a job rally: Here, schoolchildren come directly to the companies, gain insights into the carpentry trade and are allowed to make a workpiece themselves. "Carpentry shops also open their doors during Job Week to draw attention to the companies. The taster days during the ninth grade are particularly helpful. Everyone involved benefits immensely from all these opportunities to introduce young people to our craft," Hindinger is convinced.

Stable Upper Austria

Hindinger sees the numbers currently stabilizing after a slight decline in the number of apprentices in recent years. As of June 30, 2025, there were 259 carpenter apprentices in 149 training companies, 136 apprentices in 85 companies in the carpentry technology (TIT) production profession and 88 TIT planning apprentices in 56 companies in Upper Austria. In addition, three carpentry technicians with a focus on model and mold making are being trained in two companies and eight boat building apprentices are being trained in four companies. This division shows the diverse variants that the profession now offers - and those responsible agree that this needs to be widely disseminated to the public.

The themes merge

Although there is a "but" for some when it comes to diversity: For Helmuth Hehenberger, bringing together the areas of production and planning in the four-year carpentry technology training course is a central task for the future: "When this training track was introduced in 1998, the profession looked completely different. Today, these areas are visibly merging in practice and the training companies usually have both the necessary machine equipment and the planning tools -skills. That wasn't the case in the beginning, so the division was a good way to go. Now it's time to combine the divisions. Of course, while at the same time adapting the school training accordingly.”

The Carinthian Peter Preinig is also a guild master and apprentice supervisor - and also provides a summary of the focal points in carpentry technology training: "In order to maintain the high quality and justify the associated higher training effort, a broader range of positions makes sense."

“In short supply” trainees

Peter Preinig also reports stable figures from his federal state: The number of apprentices in Carinthia has leveled off at a total of around 200 apprentices in recent years: "We are neither recording a massive decline nor an increase. Although there are certainly big differences in the regions." The situation in Upper Carinthia and Lower Carinthia is developing very positively, but in the metropolitan areas of Klagenfurt, Villach and St. Veit an der Glan the numbers are falling. This is mainly due to the strong school competition, which is also concerned with maintaining the number of students. For “early recruitment”, Carinthia also relies on the already mentioned Tischler Trophy and presence at the apprentice fair, which takes place annually in February in Klagenfurt. They are currently reorganizing the trade fair appearance in order to be able to address young people even more specifically.

Try out the job

"Basically, we are not interested in simply poaching young people from other training paths in order to maintain our numbers. We are looking for real talents who are passionate about the profession and will therefore stay with us in the long term," says Preinig. A good way to find this, as Claudia Hindinger already mentioned, is to "try out" in the company: "It's not easy for young people to find the right career these days due to the abundance of options on offer. Trial days are a great opportunity to try things out and find out what's really behind the job. And of course, companies also benefit enormously from getting to know each other personally. Because you can see very quickly whether it's a good fit - or not neither."

Contemporary representation

Regardless of all advertising and promotional campaigns - in order to ensure the continued existence of the profession, it is essential to raise the image of the carpentry trade in people's minds: "The respect for our work must increase significantly; this is one of the biggest challenges," says Claudia Hindinger, who also calls on the media to present the profession in a timely manner: "A carpenter with a pencil behind his ear, a apron tied around, behind it a dusty mess of boards - that hasn't existed in practice for a long time. Unfortunately, this image is still conveyed far too often.”