Vorarlberg has filled just one of eight school psychology posts

Seven of eight additional school psychology posts in Vorarlberg remain vacant, leaving about one-third of the region’s 20.5 positions unfilled, the Vorarlberg Education Directorate told ORF Vorarlberg.

The federal government provided funding for the eight full-time posts last school year, with the aim of increasing the total to 20.5. The directorate had hoped to fill some of them by the start of the new school year, but said it was extremely difficult to find suitably qualified applicants. Some candidates withdrew after accepting posts, while others left for personal reasons or to take on other challenges.

The Education Ministry requires applicants to have a postgraduate qualification in clinical psychology in addition to a psychology degree. Elisabeth Mettauer of the directorate said candidates without that additional training had to be turned down. The directorate continues to advertise the jobs through various channels.

The required clinical training is also a wider bottleneck, according to the Austrian Association of Psychologists. The association said late last year that there were too few placements for practical training and that the available conditions had for years failed to meet demand.

The directorate has also criticised the pay offered for the posts, saying candidates have cited better salaries elsewhere when declining jobs. Mettauer said Vorarlberg had repeatedly asked the federal government to improve pay, but no changes had been made. Other Austrian states are also struggling to fill all their new positions. Vorarlberg faces the added difficulty of having no university and therefore no psychology graduates locally.

School psychology services are available to students, teachers, parents and school leaders. The free, voluntary and confidential support covers issues including learning and motivation difficulties, exam anxiety, worries about the future, experiences of violence and other crises. Vorarlberg has a counselling centre in each district, as well as regular consultation hours at schools.

A free and confidential helpline, run in cooperation with Rat auf Draht, is available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at 0800 211320.