Swiss vocational education and training - potentials and challenges
No other country in Europe has such a high proportion of young people in dual vocational training as Switzerland. This special path is challenging in view of the rapid changes in the labor market and society. New skills are in demand. In their new trend report, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training SFIVET argue for optimizing the permeability between vocational and general education and promoting the further education skills of vocational learners.
Switzerland is increasingly taking a special path in Europe with its vocational education and training system and is also increasingly differentiating itself from its neighboring countries Germany and Austria. Nowhere else has dual vocational education remained so strong and the division between vocational and academic education so clear, as the new trend report by the Swiss Observatory for Vocational Education and Training OBS SFIVET shows. This offers advantages, but also brings challenges.
General education gains in importance
To this day, the strengths of Swiss vocational education and training include its high level of practical relevance and labor market relevance, as well as low youth unemployment. Around 60 percent of young people complete a dual vocational education and training program - more than in any other European country. In addition, 91 percent of young people in Switzerland have completed upper secondary education by the age of 25, a very high proportion by international standards.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to respond to technological, economic and social changes. At the heart of this is the question of the ideal relationship between vocational and general education. It arises when the decision is made between a high school/general education path or a vocational path. And it also arises within vocational education, where some vocational apprenticeships provide twice as much schooling as others. In addition, the vocational baccalaureate (BM) varies widely by occupation and canton.
The requirements increase
Structural change in the world of work means that lifelong learning in school and company contexts is becoming even more important. The ability to adapt to new professional circumstances is gaining in importance. The change is also reflected in the fact that there are more learners in dual vocational apprenticeships with a higher proportion of schooling. However, increasing vocational school shares in dual basic education also lead to a conflict of objectives: If learners go to school more, they are absent from companies, which worsens the company's cost-benefit ratio.
The SFIVET researchers advocate an open debate about the future and the optimization potential of the Swiss education system. In particular, they would like to discuss its actual permeability, which could be increased, as a look at neighboring countries shows. In this context, it is also important to think about additional educational opportunities at the upper secondary level that offer young people an alternative if they have not been successful in basic vocational training.
The trend report "Fields of tension in vocational education and training internationally and in Switzerland - developments, challenges, potentials" is available at: www.ehb.swiss/forschung/obs/themen-und-trends/spannungsfelder-der-berufsbildung-international-schweiz
