Hello at ATRACT® Austria!

We guarantee that every candidate will find a job. We cannot promise that employees will start right away in their dream position, but we will support them in reaching their goals. We will do our very best to ensure that everybody will find the perfect job. The success of placement will also depend on the qualification, cooperation, motivation and the commitment of our candidates.

Before the seasons (Winter/Summer) we organize several camps that prepare you for the working world in Austria. Before the camp we provide an online Zoom meeting with the workshop “Living and Working in Austria” and a German course via Zoom. For the camp in Tyrol we meet in one of our member hotels (Sunday to Friday). Accommodation, boarding, training and workshops at the training camp are free of charge. In the camp we simulate the workflow (for kitchen, service, housekeeping) of the hotels in Austria and give you an insight into the life in Austria in a workshop about integration and personality. Upon successful completion, you will receive a certificate and become part of the ATRACT community and will be matched to one of our member hotels for your first job in Austria.

Speaking German makes everything much easier. You don’t have to speak German at the beginning, but basic knowledge of English (A2/B1 Level) is required. We can also switch to English in conversations, so you understand everything. During the training camp you will receive German instruction. Prior to the start of the training camp, we will send you vocabulary lists with German words and some grammar exercises. We highly recommend dealing with these documents prior to your arrival.

Upon your arrival in Austria and during the training camp you have the status of a tourist and should therefore automatically be insured. Every EU citizen has health insurance that is valid throughout the EU when on holiday. However, to be 100 percent sure we advise you to check with your insurance company if you are covered by this health insurance when travelling to Austria. Then, as soon as you start a job in Austria, you will automatically be insured through your employer. Employees are fully insured under the General Social Security Act (ASVG) for health, pension and accident insurance.

In our ATRACT program we recruit and train motivated people in all age ranges. Work experience in the tourism sector, as you have in housekeeping and service, will help in the onboarding phase and in our training camp. However, also people with no experience in the tourism sector are welcome.

We can guarantee you that your first job will be in Austria, mainly in the Western part, in Tirol and Salzburg. Please remember that your preferences matter!

Families cannot be at the training camp, but we do of course include parents in the programme. – Do they both want to work? – How old are the children? – We only give framework, not family organisation (e.g. 1 parent 1st TC, then 2nd parent comes in TC2

Every employee gets 5 weeks paid vacation per year in Austria. The vacation serves for recreation. It is forbidden to arrange money instead of vacation. Vacations must always be agreed between employee and employer. However, once a vacation has been granted, it cannot be cancelled – except the company has important economic reasons, e.g. a business emergency.

Planned time schedule (Subject to change without notice) The training program takes place Monday to Friday, from about 7:00 to 19:00. During our online ‘crew dating’ event you will meet the managers of our partner hotels personally. In advance there will be information about the companies. This is for you to get to know your future employer and to have an idea who your favourite employers are

We recommend that you talk to your employers and try to arrange a German course in the companies, sometimes these German courses are also paid for by the company.

On one evening during the first week of the training camp, ATRACT member hotels and future employers are presented. On one day there will be the ‘crew dating’ with the managers of our ATRACT member hotels. In this event our participants will get to know their future employer and can decide which employer suits them best.

All participants will be divided into 3 different teams:

• Team “Kitchen”
• Team “Service”
• Team “Housekeeping”

According to your application you have working experience as a cook. Therefore, you are registered in the team “Kitchen”. In your field of work, you will receive different trainings/lessons/information from experienced trainers:

• theory and practice of the Austrian kitchen
• German lessons
• personality development
• information on all aspects of living in Austria

To ensure that every team can practice in an authentic environment we run a Member Hotel of ATRACT. You will practice operating procedures referred to Austrian standards. The other participants will be your “guests”. Our coaches will train you and give you feedback.   Please note that you do not have a contract with the Member Hotel. You will have an agreement with ATRACT. For details, please read the training camp agreement. The whole camp – instructions, trainings, board, and lodging – is free of charge. To participate in this programme, you are required to pay a one-off fee of € 250, -. This fee confirms your seriousness of your intention to take part in the training camp and to work in Austria. After starting your new job, you must pay another € 250, – for our administrative work – this amount will fall due after receiving your first wage. After successful completion you receive the ATRACT-certificate, become a Crew member and part of the ATRACT community. ATRACT supports you and helps building your career with no extra costs on your side.

Preliminary plan (subject to change):

• Arrival of the participants from 3 o’clock
• Drinks, snacks
• Room assignment
• Handover of the information folder
• From 18 o’clock opening event & get-together
  • ATRACT Team introduction and company presentation
  • Information on organization and program
  • Presentation of the partner hotels that need employees

Pia (recruiting@atract.at, responsible for training camp and crew scouts) will run this training camp according to the 2019 model and then evaluate and further develop it.

You can start as a kitchen hand, a dishwasher, bar assistant, assistant cook, assistant waiter, room boy, caretaker/janitor. Your position depends primarily on your level of qualification, language skills, work experience, commitment, and motivation. (Basic) knowledge of German opens the doors!!!

Hotels provide accommodation and meals during your workday shift. This means if you are in early shift, you can have breakfast and lunch, late shift includes lunch and dinner. All ATRACT members offer cooking facilities for their employees – this applies if no food is available in the company during the non-working hours. Many companies also provide meals on days off.   Some hotels offer perks like ski passes, free entrance to swimming pools… ATRACT stands for fair payment, we support and accompany!

Regardless of their German skills everybody must participate in our training camp to receive the certificate which is obligatory to become part of the ATRACT community. Of course, we will match the content of the training camp with the skills of the participants.

As an employee you have a work agreement/contract with your employer in which your wage will be regulated. This is regulated in Austria’s collective labour agreement for the tourism and catering service industry. The wage depends on your qualification, skills, knowledge, working hours (40/48 hours), working days (5/6 days) There is a legal minimum wage which is quite attractive. For example: A cook with professional training receives a minimum wage of € 1.575 (for 40 hours/week) plus two bonus payments (holiday compensation and Christmas bonus) plus insurance.

Your day of arrival to the training camp is Sunday – first day of the trainingscamp. If you arrive earlier, you must find another accommodation for these extra nights. Of course, we will help you finding a room but keep in mind that this will be at your own expense.

If you fly to the Innsbruck airport (Austria) and take the bus/train to the Hotel. If you fly to the Salzburg airport (Austria) you can take the train (https://www.oebb.at/en/) to the main station in Innsbruck If you fly to Munich airport (Germany) you can take the bus (https://shop.flixbus.com/) to Innsbruck You can also take a train from Munich airport to Innsbruck main station (https://www.oebb.at/en/)

Most importantly, they should be motivated and have a willingness to work abroad. Basic German language skills are definitively an advantage. Prior to the start of the training camp, we will send you vocabulary lists with German words and some grammar exercises. We highly recommend dealing with these documents prior to your arrival.  During the training camp we offer German lessons. If you do not speak German, English is required. Having experience in their field of work is not a “must have” but of course a “nice to have” which makes your start in an ATRACT member hotel easier. Every future employer will appreciate attributes like ambition, flexibility, customer and service-orientation, communication skills, ….

We have a compulsory liability insurance system in Austria. This means employees are fully insured under the General Social Security Act (ASVG) and you will be insured through your employer. You will be covered under health insurance, retirement pension insurance and accident insurance. The fees for the insurance are automatically deducted from the monthly gross salary.