Abstract
Mental wellbeing is a key determinant of young people’s learning capacity, motivation and long-term health. During the transition from school to work, apprentices face multiple psychosocial challenges, increasing their vulnerability to mental health problems. Against this backdrop, the project MIND ON – Strong as an Apprentice aimed to promote mental wellbeing in a structured and sustainable way within vocational education settings. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, an internationally established and validated screening tool. The WHO-5 consists of five positively worded items assessing subjective wellbeing over the past two weeks (score range 0–25; higher scores indicate better wellbeing). Data collection took place in five vocational schools in Styria and was embedded in a participatory, practice-oriented workshop programme. The analyses included 831 complete datasets (36% female, 61% male, 3% other; mean age 17.13 years, SD = 3.60). The mean WHO-5 score was 11.37 (SD = 5.33; 95% CI [11.01; 11.73]). Overall, 57% of participants scored below the established cut-off of 13, indicating impaired wellbeing and a potential need for further assessment. A one-sample t-test showed that the mean score was significantly below the reference value (p < .001). No statistically significant or practically relevant gender differences were observed. The findings point to a substantial proportion of apprentices with reduced mental wellbeing at an early stage of vocational training. Based on these results, targeted, needs-based interventions were implemented, including workshops on learning strategies, digital health literacy, stress management, and relaxation and concentration techniques. At the same time, the results confirm the suitability of the WHO-5 as a low-threshold, efficient monitoring instrument for evidence-based planning and evaluation of health-promoting measures in vocational education contexts.
Key messages
• A significant proportion of first-year apprentices exhibit reduced mental well-being, highlighting the transition to working life as a critical phase for targeted psychological support.
• The WHO-5 is an effective, easily accessible tool for identifying needs and guiding evidence-based interventions in the field of vocational training.