STRABAG Camp[us] Ybbs: Austria’s most modern apprenticeship training

• Opening of new training centre after only one year of construction
• Training for 250 apprentices from all over Austria every year
• STRABAG investment of more than € 10 million

Vienna/Ybbs an der Donau, 8 October 2021---STRABAG, Austria’s largest construction group, has opened a new training centre after just one year of construction which will provide training to around 250 apprentices from all over Austria every year. STRABAG invested a total of around € 10 million in the new facility.

“The shortage of skilled workers presents a major challenge to our industry. With our new Camp[us] Ybbs, we want to actively counteract this situation. We have invested more than € 10 million in the new facility in order to give our young recruits the most modern training in all of Austria,” says Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG SE. “Embarking on a career path is always a big step. At our Camp[us] Ybbs, we want to welcome our apprentices to their new careers right from the start of their training. Throughout the entire training period, our focus is on the latest working methods and construction technologies. But we are especially committed to strengthening the team spirit and fostering a collaborative working culture. The apprentices work on construction sites all over Austria, but Camp[us] Ybbs is intended as a place where they can come together and have a good time away from the usual classroom atmosphere – just like at a camp,” says Gerd Egger, the director of STRABAG Camp[us] Ybbs.

Community and innovative spirit
Apprentices will spend about four weeks in Ybbs in addition to their regular vocational school training. During this time, the new recruits will have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the use of tools while practising typical construction site procedures. In two large workshop halls, the apprentices work in teams to master the various tasks of the different occupations that await them on the construction site. The training also covers innovative topics that do not yet form part of the traditional vocational curriculum. In Ybbs, the apprentices will be able to practise operating construction equipment on state-of-the-art simulators. During their training, the young people live on site in the apprentice quarters. A fitness room, sports fields and recreation areas are also available for leisure activities.

The construction industry – boom and labour shortage
The construction industry is one of the few sectors that have weathered the coronavirus crisis without significant losses. At the end of the six-month reporting period, STRABAG was able to announce a record order backlog, not only at the corporate level, but also in Austria. And to work off the ongoing boom, STRABAG is continuously looking for new employees. In Austria alone, 500 positions are currently vacant, with around 100 apprentices sought in the training sector every year. Currently, there are 383 apprentices in training in Austria, most of them in the classic construction trades such as building construction, civil engineering, concrete construction and paving, although apprentice positions are also being filled in construction-related fields such as construction plant technology, building technology, metal technology and dry construction work.

Apprentice quarters completed in just eleven days
With regional partner Stora Enso, STRABAG took a completely new path in the construction of the training centre. Thanks to an unprecedented degree of prefabrication, the apprentice quarters, built out of timber elements, were completed in just eleven days. The prefabricated CLT (cross laminated timber) panels were fitted with all necessary components and fixtures already in the factory. Altogether, the early planning made it possible to keep to the ambitious schedule of just under one year of construction despite the pandemic and associated material bottlenecks. The project also gave several apprentices an opportunity to lend a hand in applying the thermal insulation composite system for the apprentice quarters [video].

Lifelong learning
Successful completion of the apprenticeship may be the goal, but it is not the end of the apprentice’s time at Camp[us] Ybbs. The facility will offer further training to construction workers on an ongoing basis. Building methods are constantly changing and evolving, and new and more innovative materials are always coming onto the market, especially when it comes to making buildings environmentally sound. In keeping with the philosophy of lifelong learning, STRABAG employees are continuously brought up to the state of the art.

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