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- Utah formalized a partnership with Austria to enhance its statewide apprenticeship model.
- The agreement includes student exchanges and a ski lift technician apprenticeship program.
- The partnership is timely, given Utah is preparing to host the 2034 Winter Olympics.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has long worked to supply the state's workforce with talent from the K-12 and higher education systems through initiatives like Talent Ready Utah. On Monday, that organization formalized a partnership with Austria to strengthen and expand its apprenticeship model, among other things.
While it may seem like an unlikely partner, the ties and parallels between Austria and the Beehive State are strong.
"Talent Ready Utah runs what's called the Talent Ready Apprenticeship Program (and) it's the state's youth apprenticeship program," said Vic Hockett, associate commissioner of Talent Ready Utah. "Learning more about the Austrian apprenticeship model ... gives us an opportunity to get kids skills, get in some education. And it also culminates, too, with an associate's degree, so the kid can continue into the workforce or they can continue their pursuits of higher education."
Hockett described Monday's signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Utah System of Higher Education, the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity and Austria as "monumental," saying, "Globally, there's not a lot of countries that do (apprenticeships) better than Austria."
In addition to strengthening Utah's youth apprenticeship program, the signing also opens the door for student exchange opportunities between Utah and Austria.
"There are a couple Austrian companies in Salt Lake — not a lot of people know about that. So, through this partnership that we have with Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake School District and Ski Utah, we have developed a ski lift technician apprenticeship program. That'll be one of many to come," Hockett said. "The students that are building the ski lifts in Utah, they're also building the same things in Austria. So, we'll be able to do an apprenticeship swap with the students in Utah, students in Austria, and really give them that dual exposure to the systems."
The Austrian delegates on hand for the memorandum of understanding signing included Petra Schneebauer, ambassador of Austria to the United States, and Georg Konetzky, director general of national market strategies at the Federal Ministry for Labour and Economy in Austria.
"Austria and the United States share a deep and dynamic economic relationship," Schneebauer said. "Our trade and investment ties are robust and expanding, creating thousands of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. Here in Utah, we see Austrian companies thriving and contributing to the local community."
She added that the memorandum of understanding will help Utah and Austria exchange best practices and insights to create opportunities for authorities, businesses and individuals to participate in and enhance their respective apprenticeship programs.
The partnership is also timely, with Utah set to host the 2034 Winter Olympics.
"Since Austrian companies are already engaged in apprenticeship training in Utah, the base for successful cooperation is laid. However, before the background of the Olympic Winter Games in Utah in nine years, it's a good moment to start building up the skilled workforce," said Konetzky.
