1980: degree in pedagogics and political science, Univ. Vienna. Postgraduate course in sociology at the IHS and freelance research (among others at the Institute of Depth Psychology at the University of Vienna). From 1984 until 2017 employed for research and teaching at the IHS and remains affiliated with the institute.

Other activities: 1990, 2004, 2006 visitor to Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB, main topics: labour market and employment, anticipation, transitional labour markets); 1991 visitor to University of California (Berkeley, Center for Studies of Higher Education, CSHE); 1995 member of a reviewing team evaluating the system of vocational training of Minas Gerais, Brazil; 1998/99 OECD consultant (reporter of the OECD reviewing team evaluating Finland as a part of the project "Transition from School to Working Life"); 2004 expert in the project National Social Dialogue on Employment Policies commissioned by ILO; 2010 expert about ‘matching supply and demand on the labour market’ to the European Training Foundation (ETF), Torino; 2012-2013 expert in a Twinning project in Macedonia for the development of a labour market forecasting and monitoring system; since 2011 expert in the OECD project about Governing Complex Education Systems (GCES).

Regular expertise for various national and international authorities; various invited lectureships at universities in Linz, Vienna, Klagenfurt, Graz, and at Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration; 2009 visiting professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Sociology, Education and Work Research Group - GRET); since 2010 teaching and supervising the doctoral students at the Education department / School of Education of the University of Tampere, Finland.