ReFocus Austria in the United States
At the signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Austria to expand registered apprenticeships and to promote job creation in Austria and the United States.
Front Row, left to right: General Secretary for Labor Eva Landrichtinger, Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schramböck, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, U.S. Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods, and Materials Industry and Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration) Jennifer Knight.
Back Row: Austrian Ambassador to the U.S. Martin Weiss, flanked by two Egger apprentices.
Austrian Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Schramböck in Boston, Washington, and North Carolina
From April 11-13, 2022, Digital and Economic Affairs Minister Margarete Schramböck, together with General Secretary for Labor Eva Landrichtinger, met with politicians, researchers, and members of the Austrian-American business community in three US cities: Cambridge, MA, Washington, DC, and Linwood, NC. Minister for Labor Martin Kocher was originally scheduled to join Schramböck but had to cancel his visit to the U.S. due to a COVID-19 exposure. The trip to the U.S. was organized under the umbrella of the ReFocus Austria initiative, an Austrian governmental campaign to rebuild the economy as it emerges from the coronavirus crisis by supporting Austrian companies abroad and securing foreign investment in Austria.
The program began on Monday, April 11th in the Boston suburb of Cambridge with a visit to MIT and COVID-19 vaccine developer Moderna, where the Austrian delegation met with CEO Stephane Bancel. On Tuesday, the Minister held bilateral talks with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative and Presidential Cabinet member Katherine Tai.
From left to right: Secretary General Eva Landrichtinger, Moderna Co-founder and Chairman Noubar Afeyan, Federal Minister Margarete Schramböck, Moderna Co-founder and Chairman Noubar Afeyan, and Austrian Ambassador to the U.S. Martin Weiss at Moderna’s headquarters building in Cambridge, MA on April 11, 2022.
The trip culminated with a visit to the Austrian wood-manufacturer Egger’s US production facility in Linwood, North Carolina on April 13th, 2022. Accompanied by Austrian Ambassador to the U.S. Martin Weiss, the Minister met with US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh at the Egger plant, where they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand registered apprenticeships among Austrian companies and Austrian-invested companies in the US in order to promote job creation in both countries. In 2020, Austria invested $17.18 billion in the U.S., supporting about 33,500 jobs in the industrial equipment, software, and IT service sectors. The MOU will promote the exchange of ideas and best practices for apprenticeship programs in both countries.
Egger began a registered apprenticeship program in partnership with the local Davison-Davie Community College, building on its experience with the Austrian apprenticeship model. The Egger program currently has 30 apprentices enrolled with plans to add an additional 12 apprentices this year.
View the MOU here: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/MOU%20Austria.pdf
Meeting between Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schramböck (right) with US Trade Representative and Presidential Cabinet member Katherine Tai (left) on April 12, 2022 in Washington, DC.