“Blockbuster Skilled Workers of Tomorrow: The Rising Stars of Styria”

At the Dieselkino Lieboch, where blockbusters like Scream 6 or John Wick 4 are normally the focus, it was recently the local superstars among the up-and-coming professionals. For the first time, the “Stars of Styria” award ceremony of the WK regional office in Graz-Umwelt took place in a new, interactive setting.

The facts: In 2022, there were a total of 1,525 apprentices in 546 training companies in the Graz-Surroundings district. 385 of them passed the final apprenticeship examination, 99 of them with an excellent and 105 with a good result. In addition, there were the masters who successfully passed their exam and also won a star. All of them, a total of 221, are now strengthening the business location as qualified specialists. Apprentices who pass their final apprenticeship examination with distinction are honored annually at Stars of Styria together with their training companies and graduates of master craftsman and qualification examinations.

“The Star of Styria award is a strong sign of appreciation for those people and companies that invest to a particular extent in training – and thus in the future of our country,” said Michael Hohl, WK Regional Office Chairman for Graz-Umwelt, during the award.

Despite the festive occasion, Styrian Chamber of Commerce President Josef Herk also drew attention to the acute problems of our time: “According to the data from the AMS, more than 1,200 apprenticeship positions are currently open, with around 700 apprenticeship seekers. In Styria alone, this corresponds to a backlog of more than 500 available training places – a striking increase compared to previous years,” reports Herk.