The heterogeneity of the adult education and training landscape is also reflected in its governance structure. The distribution of responsibilities and tasks depends on
In principle it can be said that legally regulated qualifications – irrespective of where they are taught (such as a school, adult learning establishment) – are within the sphere of responsibility of a federal ministry.
At the federal level, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) in particular needs to be mentioned as a relevant institution.
Based on the 1973 Federal Financing Act on the Funding of Adult Education and Public Libraries from Federal Funds, BMBWF or, to be precise, its Department for Adult Education is in charge of the financial and structural support for adult education and training in Austria. It is also responsible for coordinating and implementing ESF programmes in the field of adult learning.
The Federal Institute for Adult Education (BIFEB) a BMBWF unit, sees itself as a competence centre for professionalisation, quality development and expert discourse. BIFEB is an innovative partner in national and international networks and projects and, at the same time, a seminar centre for all people who are active in adult education and training (teachers, trainers, career guidance officers and educational counsellors, educational managers and librarians). BIFEB is one of the partners in the cooperative system of adult learning (cf. the text below) and is co-responsible for the Austrian Academy of Continuing Education (cf. chapter 8.4: Possibilities where certification bodies are involved).
As well as BMBWF, other federal ministries also need to be mentioned as bearing responsibility for adult education and training in Austria. They include:
As – according to the Federal Constitutional Act – adult education and training is not within the sphere of competence of the Austrian federal government, the provincial governments have various options in this policy field and they differ between provinces. For example, funds for adult education and training institutions or individual support for course participants can be made available. Eligibility for benefits, educational objectives and the funding amounts are regulated differently in the various provinces (for more information).
At the level of professional associations, first and foremost the Austrian Conference of Adult Education Institutions (KEBÖ) needs to be mentioned. It was founded in 1972 and comprises the ten largest national CET associations which are active in the whole of Austria. KEBÖ acts as a partner of BMB in the implementation of educational policy focuses and as a representation of interest. BMBWF cooncludes performance agreements with the individual KEBÖ associations. Together with the Federal Institute for Adult Education (BIFEB), KEBÖ forms the cooperative system of adult learning, the business fields of which include the Austrian Academy of Continuing Education (cf chapter 8.4: Possibilities where certification bodies are involved).
A large number of NGOs and non-profit associations which are not represented in KEBÖ are also partners of BMBWF in the implementation of educational policy focuses and, in their capacity as adult education and training institutions, are important providers of adult education and training in Austria.
At the local level, adult education and training institutions themselves are responsible for key tasks in the adult learning sector. This mainly applies to adult learning programmes which lead to not legally regulated qualifications (cf. chapter 8.4: Other Types of Publicly Subsidised Provision for Adult Learners). For these, the respective provider defines contents and validation procedures and also selects teachers and develops teaching materials. Adult education and training establishments which offer short training and other courses leading to legally regulated qualifications must comply with the specifications (such as the framework curriculum, examination procedures, etc.) of the federal ministry with competence in the respective subject matter (cf. Federal Level)