Sometimes, what employers need does not correspond with what job seekers are offering. The so-called skills gap is an ever growing problem on the job market. In his address to the participants of the conference, Ambassador Waldner highlighted the importance of bringing experts from Austria and the U.S. together to solve this issue.
On November 13, 2018, the Austrian Embassy together with the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, and the Austrian Institute of Economic Research organized an event on the future of public workforce programs, drawing from the positive Austrian experience. A group of 40+ high-level experts from federal and local governments, Congress and academia attended this one-day event at the Austrian Embassy in Washington D.C.
Participants from Austria included Roland Sauer, Director General for the labor market at the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Johannes Kopf, Director General of the Austrian Public Employment Service, Professor Christoph Badelt, Director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, and Georg Fischer, former Director for the labor market at the European Commission. Professor Douglas J. Besharov from the School of Public Policy of the University of Maryland moderated the event.
