Validierungs- und Anerkennungspraxis mitgebrachter Qualifikationen

The Practice of Validating and Recognizing Prior Qualifications. From the perspective of Austrian recognition counselling
The formal recognition as well as the use of assessments and standardization in the context of international qualifications involve several challenges. Roughly 100 agencies throughout Austria are responsible for a variety of recognition procedures – depending on occupation, level, country in which the degree was granted and place of residence of the applicant. Yet not every prior qualification can be measured or compared with existing measurement tools. This article provides insight into the challenging practice of validation and recognition based on the author‘s years of professional experience at the Beratungszentrum für Migranten und Migrantinnen (Counselling Centre for Migrants) in Vienna as well as her observations of counselling for people who have acquired qualifications abroad at information points in other federal states. One criticism is that access to the world of work during an ongoing recognition procedure seems to be incredibly important for those who are affected (acceleration of learning processes, expansion of professional vocabulary) as well as for the labour market, yet it has not been envisaged for all occupational groups. (Ed.)