A local pilot expands

The Liezen initiative began in May 2024 through cooperation between BILLA and Lebenshilfe Ennstal’s vocational-assistance network. For the 2025 edition, the NEBA Betriebsservice coordinated the initiative and its reach expanded across Styria. BILLA’s own account, published on 28 May 2025, described participation by eight BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores in Styria and southern Burgenland. The participants included young people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities. They gained practical experience in different areas of grocery retail during the same week.

Six apprenticeships refer to 2024

Klaus E. Herzmaier, head of Lebenshilfe Ennstal’s vocational-assistance network, linked the six apprenticeship starts to the previous year’s inclusion week. For the new 2025 group, he expressed confidence that young people could again move into apprenticeships. These are different kinds of information: one is a reported result, the other an expectation. The May account did not say that six of the twelve new participants had been hired, and it did not establish how many of the earlier apprenticeships continued beyond their start.

Support also goes to the employer

NEBA is an initiative of Austria’s Sozialministeriumservice. Its Betriebsservice provides advice to employers across sectors and business sizes, including public and non-profit organisations. The service describes an initial discussion to identify needs, followed by advice on legal requirements, funding options and possible employment roles. It also supports recruitment. This gives the inclusion week an organisational setting beyond a short visit: a company can discuss how a job is structured and what support is available when considering an applicant with a disability.

Experience before an employment decision

BILLA described the week as an opportunity for young people to try real workplace tasks and explore possible careers. Working in different departments can give applicants and store teams information that a conventional interview does not provide. The Liezen account supplies one tangible follow-on result from the 2024 cohort, while the 2025 report documents a new round of experience. Neither a place in the week nor a positive company statement amounts to a guaranteed apprenticeship. The relevant next step for each participant is an actual training or employment agreement. [1]