Here I go again

I know I’ve written a couple of times about the priority given to vocational training in Austria, especially compared to my native land, the U.S.A. And here I go again. There’s a brief article in the Kurier today about the results of the nationwide competition for apprentices in the tourism industry (obviously very interesting for Austria). The results, accompanied by a photo of the three young winners attractively and appropriately dressed in uniform / Dirndl, are listed by federal state only (no personal names). Salzburg won for service, Styria won for hospitality business administration, and Upper Austria won for gastronomy.  The young people’s victories have secured them spots at the two major international competitions, World Skills 2015 and EuroSkills 2016. Isn’t it refreshing that young people are getting medals for doing their jobs fantastically well.

P.S. I was a bit disappointed that Vienna didn’t win anything, but, as it was a competition for apprentices, I suppose there was no category for highly qualified but grumpy middle-aged men. 😉