Kindergarten places in Austria have been significantly expanded in recent years. To recruit urgently needed additional staff, Austria has for several years been increasing the number of training places. Just last week, a campaign was launched to promote new training pathways in early childhood education. However, the expansion so far has led to neither an increase in student numbers nor in graduations, according to figures from the Ministry of Education.
More than last year
Beginning with the 2021/22 school year, the previous conservative–Green government created additional places at colleges for early childhood education (BAfEP), with 150 added in the first year alone. This has not yet resulted in higher enrollment. According to the Education Ministry’s response to a parliamentary inquiry by the Freedom Party (FPÖ), around 10,400 people were enrolled in 2024/25 in the five-year BAfEP program, which combines vocational training with the high school diploma, and in two- to three-year colleges for adults. While this was more than in the previous school year (around 10,100), it was still fewer than in 2020/21 (around 10,600).
Looking at detailed figures for the adult colleges—where most new places have been created in recent years—there was at least an increase of nearly 10 percent compared with 2020/21, to just over 2,000 students.
The policy focus has a clear rationale: graduates of the adult colleges are far more likely to actually work in kindergartens after graduation—around 80 percent, compared with about half of graduates from the five-year BAfEP program. However, only about one-third of all BAfEP degrees currently come from these colleges.
The expansion launched in 2021 has also not yet been reflected in graduation numbers. In the 2022/23 and 2023/24 school years—the first graduating cohorts with additional places—there were around 2,000 graduates each year, according to the ministry, roughly the same as in the three years prior. Among graduates, there has been a recent shift toward the college track: 640 degrees were awarded in this format, nearly 200 more than in 2020/21.
140 career changers at teacher training colleges
Looking further back, the trend appears less impressive. In 2017, ministry data show about 600 college graduates. Including the five-year program, there were 2,300 graduates at the time—more potential new kindergarten teachers than before the current training expansion began.
In response to staff shortages, additional training routes have been created alongside BAfEPs in recent years, including programs for career changers at teacher training colleges (PH). Compared with the more than 10,000 BAfEP students, however, these programs remain marginal. In 2024/25, only about 140 people were enrolled in early childhood education programs at PHs, according to the Education Ministry. A continuing education program at the University of Graz, aimed at qualifying assistants to become group-leading educators, was most recently completed by around 100 participants.
According to Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS), Austria is still short of several thousand kindergarten teachers. The government has therefore earmarked €32 million for an additional 4,000 training places by 2028/29. The strategy includes expanding part-time college programs, with the goal of offering them in every political district. Increased use of distance learning is intended to better reach people aged 20 to 45 in rural areas who are seeking a career change. At the same time, the ministry plans to increasingly target high school graduates: alongside the University of Applied Sciences Campus Vienna, a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education is set to be offered at selected teacher training colleges starting this fall.
