The agricultural and forestry schools as well as the research institutes of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (BML) play an important role in the regions that goes beyond the educational mandate. This is the result of a study by the Institute for Economic Research (WIFO). Accordingly, these BML departments brought an average total economic effect of 210 million euros between 2019 and 2022. This results in around 3,000 jobs at locations in predominantly rural regions.
The training at the BML schools has a positive effect on the success of the company and on one’s personal career, he says Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig: “Our schools and research institutions offer modern and diverse training, bring new scientific findings directly into practice and thus provide important impetus for economic development. With a direct and indirect added value of around 210 million euros, they are also an important economic factor in the regions. The study confirms our sustainable approach to a practical and future-oriented Austrian agricultural and regional policy. Investments in high-quality professional training and research, as well as networking with professional colleagues, are just as important as investments in physical capital.”
The Study
The study “On the role of the educational and research institutions of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management as a qualification and economic factor” was carried out on behalf of the BML and was recently completed. The economic effects on the locations as well as the concrete effects of the training on the business success and career of the graduates are examined.
For study director Gerhard Streicher (Wifo), the agricultural schools offer training in rural areas, for rural areas, that goes far beyond the “core competency of agriculture” and “not least promote the Austrian strategic plan of the Common Agricultural Policy”.
The Ministry of Agriculture includes eleven higher agricultural and forestry schools, the forestry school and the university for agricultural and environmental education with a total of around 5,000 pupils and students. Six of these educational institutions are combined with a research institute. 1,500 people are employed at teaching and research locations throughout Austria.
“Knowledge is the best basis for overcoming the diverse and complex challenges, which in the area of agriculture and forestry include topics such as climate change adaptation and digitalization. For a future-oriented and crisis-proof agricultural sector, we need well-trained and technically experienced, active farmers who implement innovative approaches in their businesses in a practical manner,” says Deadly.
Effects on the regional economy
The schools’ direct added value between 2019 and 2022 is estimated at an average of almost 100 million euros. A further around 35 million euros are added via advance services and supplier connections. With the consumption effects from the associated added value, the overall effect of the BML schools and research institutions increases to around 210 million euros and a total of 3,000 jobs.
According to Wifo, the regional economic links between school operations are “of a noticeable magnitude”, making the departments an “economic factor” in the location regions. The importance is particularly great at individual locations: around 12 percent of the jobs in the municipality of Irdning-Donnersbachtal can be found at the Raumberg-Gumpenstein Higher Federal Teaching and Research Institute.
The example of Traunkirchen
The economic effect of the Traunkirchen Forestry School, which has been housed in the “Forest Campus” Traunkirchen since 2018 together with the BFW forestry training center, the forestry association and a research cluster, was examined in more detail.
The Wifo analysis also shows that even a comparatively small educational center can trigger relevant demand effects in small, rural communities. In addition to the approximately 60 people who are employed directly at the Traunkirchen forest campus, the largest component of which is the BML’s forestry school, the activities and the demand triggered by the forest campus indirectly lead to around 30 additional employees or 50 employees in the community. This may be a manageable size in absolute terms, but overall it means a significant increase of around 30 percent in the number of employed people in the community, which can be traced back to the campus.
Training and business success
Training at BML schools also has positive economic effects. According to the Wifo study, the stability of agricultural businesses increases significantly when the farm manager has a higher level of agricultural education. If the management has a relevant high school diploma, degree or master’s training, the business has a higher probability of survival of eight percentage points over a period of two decades compared to an equivalent business without agricultural training.
In addition, graduates who are employed are affected by unemployment less often and for a shorter period of time and their income is slightly higher than that of the comparison group.
Positive self-assessment of the graduates
On average, 72 percent of students come from rural areas. Higher agricultural schools thus make an important contribution to a well-trained workforce in rural areas: they train young people from these regions for careers in these regions. Many graduates also work in other sectors, such as trade, goods production or public administration as well as professional and technical services.
The evaluation of the training is very positive: more than 90 percent of the graduates surveyed would choose the training they chose again, and a similar percentage would recommend the training to others. Around half will take over the family business or have already taken over.
Diverse training opportunities in the regions
The schools run by the Ministry of Agriculture offer a wide range of training opportunities throughout Austria. The offering ranges from agriculture and forestry to horticulture, landscaping, wine and fruit growing, nutrition, biotechnology and agricultural technology to digitalization as well as environmental and resource management. The close cooperation with research institutions and internships at home and abroad also contribute to the graduates being in high demand on the job market. The school-autonomous setting of priorities means that regional characteristics and new developments can be taken into account in order to be able to respond even more specifically to the requirements of the labor market.
More information at www.bml.gv.at/schulen and Research