Young traders want more sustainability in international trade

1,400 young people have opted for a commercial apprenticeship in the retail sector. The training and further education of young traders is one of the key services provided by Handel Schweiz. At the award ceremony for the "Best Apprentices 2022", Director Kaspar Engeli explained: "In addition to basic training, we are also dedicated to further training, for example in foreign trade or e-commerce. We are convinced that only with high quality education and good training companies can the industry face up to the growing shortage of skilled workers." But how do young people rate apprenticeships in retail? And what challenges do they see ahead for their industry? In order to find out more, the umbrella organization conducted a survey among this year's final year students of the commercial apprenticeship in the retail sector.

China in the morning, Panama in the afternoon

57 % of the still-learners surveyed find retail interesting as an industry. 40 % appreciates the high quality of education and training and wants to deepen the knowledge gained later. 16 % named a future management position as a goal. Almost a third of the new traders are fascinated by the variety in retail. During the apprenticeship, the junior staff were able to spend several months working in purchasing, sales, accounting, customer service and marketing. In an interview, four of the "Best Apprentices 2022" described what they learned in the process.

Jil Bachmann, for example, completed her apprenticeship at the Stöckli Group in Oberkirch, which is active in medical technology. With a company grade of 5.8, she is in first place. For her, the "international surroundings" make everyday life particularly varied, as she vividly explains: "In the morning, I exchange ideas with China before my contacts go to bed. I deal with Panama in the afternoon, because there they don't get up until 3 p.m. Swiss time," she explains with a laugh. After studying politics, economics and geography, the 28-year-old opted for a shortened commercial apprenticeship plus, because no other offer matched her interests. She is very happy with her choice. She is looking forward to continuing her work with the employer and to further training in medical technology. In her opinion, there are a number of international challenges in retail. These include sustainability: "There is still a lot of room for improvement here! There is a lot of catching up to do in the efficient design of supply chains. Retailers need to get behind this as quickly as possible!" Jil Bachmann's assessment is in line with the overall results of the survey. For 28 % of the learners surveyed, sustainability represents the greatest challenge in international trade. No other topic receives so many mentions.

More sustainability in packaging

Laila Lomello also finds the topic of sustainability very important, as she emphasizes: "Young people attach importance to sustainable packaging or materials in the products." The 22-year-old was able to see this during her initial apprenticeship in the retail trade, when she had direct customer contact. These experiences and the joy of daily variety motivated her to acquire more knowledge about the origin of items, supply chains and pricing. So she started a second apprenticeship in the commercial sector at her employer Interdiscount in Jegenstorf. She completed this with an operational grade of 5.5, putting her in second place. She does not want to stand still in the future either. Further education is one of her personal goals.

18-year-old Thomas Stjelja, on the other hand, did not want to use his foreign language skills only in his free time and therefore decided to do an apprenticeship in commerce. Shortly after graduation, he began further training to become a graduate in business administration. What he finds exciting about commerce is its important function in society, for example in the supply of food. He, too, is convinced that there is still a lot of potential when it comes to implementing sustainability. He is clear: "While sustainability is writ large in many places, it is still too often a matter of professions on paper." With an operational grade of 5.5 and second place, he is also one of the six "Best Apprentices" in the commercial apprenticeship sector. He completed his apprenticeship with the SFS Group, a global supplier of precision molded parts and mechanical fastening systems. They often invisibly perform functions critical to success in technical devices such as cars, smartphones and aircraft.

Switzerland as an island

Dounia Schmid didn't feel like going to high school as a teenager. Instead, she started an apprenticeship at Audemars Piquet in Le Brassus. Founded in 1875, the watch manufacturer generates annual sales of CHF 1.58 billion with 800 employees, 610 of them in Switzerland. Every year, around 45,000 watches in the top price category are produced at the three Swiss sites in Le Brassus, Le Locle and Meyrin. The 19-year-old is proud of her operational grade of 5.5 and the 2nd place of the "Best Apprentices". She is looking forward to now being able to develop further in the internationally successful company. She is convinced: "As a small country, Switzerland depends on good international contacts. In this context, it is also important to live sustainability even better and to take it very much to heart."

Dounia Schmid's assessment is in line with the survey results. This year's commercial apprenticeship graduates named the changing markets as the second most important international challenge. This is where Swiss retailers can bring their strengths into play. In Jil Bachmann's view, these include Switzerland's good reputation and networking. However, the lack of EU membership complicates imports and exports and makes Swiss trade inflexible, she believes. But flexibility is one of the basic requirements of globalization. For the future, she sees Switzerland's lack of raw materials as another major challenge. Foreign trade is central for Switzerland, says Jil Bachmann, because "we are an isolated island and depend on imports. It is more important for many companies than trade in the domestic market." Thomas Stjelja can only agree: "Foreign trade has a major influence on Switzerland's prosperity. That applies to exports as well as imports."

Employers must benchmark themselves again and again

Ueli Stursberg, as first secretary of Handel Schweiz responsible for leading education, summarizes what the survey results mean for employers: "Employees are interested in salary, job content and identification with the job. Employees stay with a company as long as the overall package is right - but people are changing jobs much more quickly today than in the past. Employers in the retail sector therefore also have to benchmark themselves again and again."

Source: Trade Switzerland