ibw was founded in 1975 by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) and the Federation of Austrian Industry (IV). Apart from these two provider institutions and their sub-organisations, ibw's major project partners and clients include federal ministries, the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS), regional governments and individual companies. ibw is active at the international level within the framework of European projects and represents Austria in the ReferNet network, which was established by the EU’s Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). At the centre of our projects there are application-oriented research issues and topics with relevance for the world of business. ibw draws up reports and analyses at the interfaces between education and training, skill needs of businesses and qualifications.