Work, Learn, Earn

As Linda Darling-Hammond and her coauthors note in the main article (here), “There are many initiatives underway to transform secondary schools so that students have opportunities for meaningful learning, personalized supports, and connections to their futures, including college and career pathway models that offer experiential learning.” While learning from these initiatives inside the United States is important, so is looking abroad. That’s why a delegation of education and union leaders, including AFT President Randi Weingarten, visited Switzerland in January to learn more about the Swiss vocational education and training (VET) system. The visit was co-organized by the AFT and CareerWise, a US-based nonprofit that focuses on providing youth apprenticeship opportunities that can develop into meaningful jobs.

I was honored to guide the group as they explored different aspects of Swiss vocational education, including a visit to Bühler Group AG, a global Swiss technology company specializing in food processing and materials manufacturing,¹ where they met with the company’s CEO and toured the facilities where many apprentices work. Additionally, they visited a vocational school in Winterthur, near Zurich, where students are earning their vocational baccalaureates while working in their respective fields. At the school, the delegation talked to the principal, Beat Deola, and attended a Q&A session with students. Wrapping up the tour, they visited Google in Zurich, which is embracing and participating in the apprenticeship system in its Swiss offices.

During the trip, Weingarten appreciated the students’ engagement and noted how the VET system keeps their employment and education options open. She also noted many ways that US public schools and employers could deepen their partnerships—such as offering more extensive apprenticeships and stackable credentials—to improve job readiness training for high school students. Here, drawing in part on my own experiences, I’d like to share some of the features that make the VET system so effective.

Making a Choice, Without Closing Doors

Around the age of 15, young people in Switzerland face an important decision: Do I want to do an apprenticeship or continue my education at a high school? Those who choose to stay in school have the option of attending a gymnasium (academic high school), which in most cases leads to university studies. But those choosing an apprenticeship are not ruling out higher education. After an apprenticeship, young adults can enter the workforce or continue studying. While in the past young people were expected to choose between a job or university, societal norms have shifted. Today, nothing is set in stone. The system is flexible, allowing for changes in career paths.

About two-thirds of all young people choose an apprenticeship through the VET system.² They take their first steps into the working world by applying for a Lehrstelle (apprenticeship position) at a host company. If accepted, they work at the company three to four days a week, learning on the job, and then attend lessons at a vocational school for the remaining one or two days. The school provides theoretical knowledge related to their profession, as well as general subjects like math and languages. During the apprenticeship, which is usually three to four years, the host company pays the apprentice a salary that increases with each completed year. Wages vary depending on the profession and host company, but on average the monthly salary is about 600 to 800 Swiss francs (roughly $670 to $890) in the first year and about 1,200 to 1,500 Swiss francs (roughly $1,340 to $1,670) by the third year.³ Once apprentices have graduated, they receive a federal diploma, which is recognized by employers everywhere in Switzerland.* They are also highly likely to be offered full employment at the company where they were an apprentice.

The VET system covers over 245 career paths across all industries. The 10 most frequently chosen occupations are commercial employee, healthcare worker, retail clerk, social care worker, IT technician, electrician, logistician, draftsperson, cook, and farmer. The vocational training is financed both publicly and privately. On the public side, the 26 Swiss cantons (states), federal government, and municipalities all contribute. On the private side, the host companies as well as professional and industry associations contribute.⁵

Navigating the Swiss Education System

I’m a recent university graduate in communication and journalism. At 15, I had to decide whether to pursue an apprenticeship or attend a high school, and I remember this time in my life very well. I took various assessments and questionnaires designed to help me determine which professions might suit me best. With my class, I visited a career fair where hundreds of companies presented their apprenticeship programs. I realized that I wasn’t ready to enter the job market yet. I decided to continue my education, earned my Matura (Swiss high school diploma), and went on to study at a university for applied sciences. However, many of the friends I made at my university had apprenticeships. That’s what I like about the system: despite taking different paths—I pursued higher education directly, while they completed apprenticeships and earned a vocational baccalaureate—we ended up all at the same university. I consider it a privilege to have had this level of flexibility and freedom; there were paths for all of us, including paths that paid good wages for my friends who needed that extra support.

It’s not easy to decide on your potential future job at a young age. But youth are not left alone in this decision. Teachers help their pupils explore which apprenticeships might be a good fit. Additionally, there are career information centers that offer insights into different professions. This process encourages young people to ask themselves, What do I want to do in the future? What are my strengths? What can a company offer me? And since there are paths to higher education after an apprenticeship, youth are not overwhelmed if they are not sure what career or industry they would find fulfilling.

Investing in the Next Generation

The Swiss apprenticeship system is highly respected and deeply rooted in Swiss society. It has promoted prosperity, competitiveness, and integration in Switzerland.⁶ In many industries, it’s considered more suitable to have completed an apprenticeship than the academic pathway because youth collect work experience early on rather than “just” theoretical knowledge at a university. A famous example is Sergio Ermotti. He completed an apprenticeship and is now the CEO of UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank.

For Swiss companies, offering apprenticeships is a strategy for building a talent pool. An apprenticeship is a long-term investment in specific knowledge and skills. Furthermore, the productive performance of apprentices is worthwhile for the companies. In Switzerland, a company’s reputation and image are seen more positively if they hire apprentices, and hiring apprentices decreases recruiting costs.⁷ Most importantly, the VET system demonstrates how early career choices can still allow for flexibility, lifelong learning, and professional (and personal) growth.

Mira Wecker is a journalist based in Zurich, Switzerland, and a recent graduate of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. In 2024, she worked as an assistant producer for the Swiss public television and radio in Washington, DC.

*Students also have the option of doing a two-year apprenticeship and earning a federal certificate, but less than 10 percent of youth take this path.⁴ (return to article)

Endnotes

1. Bühler Group, “About Us: Healthy Food and Clean Mobility,” buhlergroup.com/global/en/about-us.html.

2. State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, Vocational and Professional Education and Training in Switzerland: Facts and Figures 2022 (Bern, Switzerland: Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Swiss Confederation, 2022), sbfi.admin.ch/dam/sbfi/en/dokumente/webshop/2020/bb-f-z-2020.pdf.download.pdf/fakten_zahlen_bb_e.pdf.

3. Berufsberatung.ch, “Lohn in der Lehre,” Schweizerisches Dienstleistungszentrum Berufsbildung, Die Kantonalen Berufs-, Studien- und Laufbahnberatungen, berufsberatung.ch/dyn/show/3231. For a list of apprenticeship wages, see Berufsberatung.ch, “Lehre und Lehrstellen: Lohn in der Lehre,” Schweizerisches Dienstleistungszentrum Berufsbildung, Die Kantonalen Berufs-, Studien- und Laufbahnberatungen, berufsberatung.ch/web_file/get?id=4270.

4. Federal Statistical Office, “Vocation Education and Training (VET) - Schools,” Swiss Confederation, www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/education-science/pupils-students/upper-secondary/vocational-training.html.

5. State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, Vocational and Professional Education.

6. R. Atkins, “Switzerland Thrives on Apprenticeship Tradition,” swissinfo.ch, Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, December 27, 2017, swissinfo.ch/eng/business/training-for-success_switzerland-thrives-on-apprenticeshiptradition/43769858.

7. Embassy of Switzerland in the United States of America, “Vocational Education and Training & Apprenticeships,” Swiss Confederation, https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/usa/en/home/representations/embassy-washington/embassy-tasks/scienceoffice/vocational-education-and-training_apprenticeships.html. 

[Photos by AFT]