On 1 July, 1990, Germany and Austria concluded a contract on co-operation in vocational training and the mutual recognition of professional examination certificates (i.e. 'Abkommen zwischen der Regierung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Republik Österreich über ie Zusammenarbeit in der beruflichen Bildung und über die gegenseitige Anerkennung der Gleichwertigkeit von Prüfungszeugnissen').

Ever since this day, a committee of experts meets once per year alternately in Germany or Austria. This committee consists of German and Austrian representatives of the ministries involved (i.e. the Ministerium für Wirtschaft and the Ministerium für Bildung und Wissenschaft for Germany), the Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, the Bundesländer and organisations of employers as well as employees. For Germany, the committee is headed by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Wissenschaft, while the Austrian part of the committee is led by the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit.

At first, the German Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung examines the professional examination certificates in question with regard to the equivalence of the exam regulations. The results of this examination are then submitted to the responsible ministries, associations or trade unions. These authorities have to take a vote on the potential equivalence (this procedure is the same in Austria). As soon as an equivalence among the exam regulations for Austrians and Germans who are in the possession of an examination certificate is ascertained, the committee will recommend registration of these certificates. This list or register is part of the agreement and may be changed or amended by Austria or Germany by an exchange of notes.

Persons who are in possession of such an equivalent examination certificate enjoy the same rights and the proof of the same qualifications in both countries. With regard to those examination certificates that have already been evaluated as equivalent, no further specific decision has to be made. The privileges which result from this principle of mutual recognition apply to the equal treatment of skilled workers concerning wages and social security and to the qualifications necessary for further education in Germany resp. Austria.

Since the agreement was put into being, the examination certificates of more than half of German vocations which have required training have been compared to Austrian equivalents (e.g. in the printing, construction, glass, ceramics and textile industries). Moreover, these equivalent certificates apply for horticultural, agricultural and commercial professions as well as for vocations in forestry.

According to proposals of the two countries, some 'old' examination certificates have been included in the process of evaluation. For the corresponding professions which are related to these 'old' certificates, new regulations and new job titles have been enacted either in Germany or Austria. This mainly concerns changes which took place within industrial and manufacturing professions during the 80s. As an example for this, the examination certificates of locksmiths and blacksmiths, which are equivalent to the corresponding Austrian certificates, can be found next to the journeyman's certificates of the profession Metallbauer, which only exists since 1989.

Temporary regulations have been considered, too. Until September 1996, 293 German vocational certificates and journeyman's certificates have been compared to 188 Austrian certificates. This discrepancy can be explained if one considers the fact that the German training regulations do not follow the Austrian differentiation between industry and trade. A second reason is that there are not any specialised vocations or concentrations in Austria. The figure 293 comprises more than 50 'old' examination certificates which in the meantime have been replaced by new regulations.