As every year, Industriemagazin had the leading Austrian continuous education providers assessed in eight categories by 250 HR managers and the same number of employees from companies with a 50+ head count. They rated the schools’ reputation as well as the quality of teaching contents, lecturers, and of teaching in general on a scale from 1 (“top-notch”) to 5 (“very poor”).

Hattrick cements impressive results of the past years

For the third year in a row, WU Vienna’s business school was voted Austria’s leading continuous education provider in the leadership and strategy category of the 2023 Industriemagazin ranking.

“2022 was, again, a challenging year for all of us. This is why I am especially happy that we were ranked number 1 in Industriemagazin’s workshop providers ranking for the third time in a row. It is highly rewarding to see that our selection of topics and formats was exactly what companies and their employees needed in these difficult times: practical tools and the right know-how to counteract the short- and medium-term effects of the pandemic and the economic downturn caused by the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible. Connecting business and research, we are able to incorporate the latest topics in our program offers, which are tailor-made to meet our customers’ needs. In doing so, we unite the best of two worlds: contents taught are relevant for business practice while simultaneously being rooted in the latest research in the field. This creates a special added value for executives and high potentials who choose to study with us: providing expertise on a level that goes beyond what is relevant on a given day,” says Barbara Stöttinger, Dean of the WU Executive Academy.

What companies look for in 2023: Leadership and digital skills

“If we look at the current job market, we can tell that the high demand for all topics digitalization and sustainability has not faltered. Businesses are still very interested in getting the hang of strategic sustainability management, data science, blockchain technology, and generally understanding digital transformation and the new business models for which it paves the way. But also people skills continue to be sought after: companies want their managers to be able to successfully lead staff also in online and hybrid work settings. What’s more, many new job profiles are popping up in the field of sustainability, and staff well trained in this field can be a real competitive advantage,” says Christof Stögerer, Head of Continuing Education at the WU Executive Academy.