Hello, have you ever applied for the skilled worker scholarship or know someone who received it?

I would like to apply for the skilled worker scholarship for the evening HTL in the field of mechanical engineering. However, according to the AMS, I am not entitled to this because the training lasts three years and I am already in the middle of the first year.

I discussed the issue with my school’s department chair, who confirmed that it was a known issue. The training lasts seven semesters, with the first lasting a full year. He told me that colleagues in Styria get around this problem by telling their students not to submit the application until the start of the second year. This should work without any problems, as the training is modular, theoretically you have to register again every semester and is considered a separate, completed school year.

I discussed the topic with both my AMS advisor and the funding agency, but both disagree. In addition, the AMS is putting pressure on me about the training and recommends that I break it off because starting work should have priority. This is particularly contradictory since it is exactly the type of training that the AMS theoretically promotes.

TL;DR: The AMS refuses the skilled worker scholarship for my evening HTL because the training lasts three years. However, since it has a modular structure and each semester is considered an independent school year, an application would be possible from the second year onwards, according to the department board, and is already common practice in other federal states (Vienna is different again). Nevertheless, both the AMS and the funding agency stand in the way and even urge me to stop the training.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​