Markus Maurer, Silke Fischer, Karin Hauser

The Swiss Model of Vocational Education and Training

System and Pedagogical Approaches

Didaktische Hausapotheke, volume 7

ISBN print: 978-3-0355-0278-7

ISBN e-book: 978-3-0355-0300-5

Cover picture: Rafael Heuri

First Edition printed in 2017

All rights reserved

© 2017 hep verlag ag, Berne

www.hep-verlag.com

Table of contents

Foreword by Rudolf Strahm

Foreword by the editor

Abbreviations

1Why this book?

2Key characteristics of Swiss VET

3The Swiss education and training system

3.1Compulsory education and baccalaureate schools

3.2VET at upper secondary level

3.3Tertiary education

4Legal, political and economic aspects of Swiss VPET

4.1Legal framework

4.2Key partners in policymaking and implementation

4.3Financing of VPET

4.4Economic and social impact of VET

5Learning at three locations in upper secondary, dual-track VET

5.1Training at host companies

5.2Classroom-based learning at vocational schools

5.3Branch courses at branch training centres

6Competence-based assessment in Swiss VET

6.1Performance assessment during the VET programme

6.2Final examination

7The Federal Vocational Baccalaureate (FVB)

7.1Fields of specialisation and subjects

7.2FVB and the labour market

8Training of VPET professionals

8.1VET teachers

8.2VET trainers in host companies

8.3Branch course instructors

9Current challenges and debates in Swiss VPET

9.1Finding the appropriate share of VET at upper secondary level

9.2Expanding access to the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate

9.3Positioning of professional education and training (PET)

9.4Making VET more inclusive

9.5Expanding VET for adults

VET for three occupations

10Carpenter with Federal VET Diploma

10.1Occupational profile

10.2Training programme

10.3Lifelong learning opportunities

11Commercial employee with Federal VET Diploma

11.1Occupational profile

11.2Training programme

11.3Lifelong learning opportunities

12Healthcare worker with Federal VET Diploma

12.1Occupational profile

12.2Training programme

12.3Lifelong learning opportunities

13Literature

Boxes

Photograph credits

Authors

Foreword by Rudolf Strahm

The high rate of youth unemployment, up to 20 or even 30% in many countries, is a social and economic problem of great concern. Unemployment at such an early stage in life is a humiliating experience for young people: instead of being able to start a career, school leavers and university graduates feel as though they are absolutely no use to society whatsoever. The challenge may become greater in the near future: according to a recent UN forecast, more than 600 million new jobs will be required over the next decade to provide school leavers with a perspective in the labour market.

Vocational education and training (VET) plays an important role in the transition of young people into the world of work, and policy makers in different parts of the world have, therefore, started reforms to strengthen it: many of them are looking at countries with dual-track VET. This form of VET combines company-based apprenticeships (with a special type of employment contract) with school-based learning, which is one of the reasons why these countries have comparatively low rates of youth unemployment. Dual-track VET is a particularly effective way of acquiring both practical vocational skills and theoretical know-how. Practical intelligence and cognitive, theory-oriented intelligence thereby reinforce each other.

In Switzerland, two thirds of all young people start their career with dual-track VET lasting two to four years. With their VET qualification and the skills they have developed they are fully employable. Nevertheless, a growing number of VET graduates subsequently participate in some type of tertiary education, be it at a PET college, a university of applied science or a regular university.

Given the interest of many countries in dual-track VET systems, there is a need for publications that provide a broad overview of these systems. This book explains – in a highly accessible way – both the systemic elements as well as the key pedagogical approaches upon which the Swiss model of vocational education and training is based.

Rudolf H. Strahm, Dr h. c.

Former Swiss Member of Parliament/Former Price Supervisor of the Swiss Confederation

Lecturer in Professional and Vocational Education, Universities of Berne and Fribourg

Foreword by the editor

Dear readers

This book is part of a series edited by the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zurich) that is dedicated to the essentials of teaching and learning and has a specific focus on vocational education and training. All books in the series present their contents in a highly condensed way, in order to be easily accessible by teachers, instructors and other professionals involved in education and training.

Whereas other books in this series are dedicated to issues that are closer to the classroom, this contribution covers the more underlying systemic elements of teaching and learning in Swiss vocational education and training (VET). It is addressed, on the one hand, to all those in Switzerland who look for information in English that can help them to present key features of Swiss VET abroad. On the other hand, it also addresses VET professionals from other countries who want to better understand our country’s approach to prepare learners at upper secondary level for the world of work. In contrast to other existing publications on Swiss VET in English, this one – while discussing systemic elements in depth – pays additional attention to underlying pedagogical concepts and provides readers with a number of concrete examples.

This publication in English also expresses our university’s dedication to deepen our cooperation with international partners. Given the growing interest in the Swiss VET model, our university already now plays a role in providing expertise to other countries that are interested in improving their VET systems. Although we are convinced of the many advantages of the system that is portrayed in this book, we are equally convinced that reforms of other VET systems cannot rely on simply importing models from abroad. Rather, such reforms need to be based on a serious understanding of how the education system and the labour market interact in the particular context, on sound political judgement and on a solid approach to implementation. It is in this way, at least, that VET in Switzerland has been evolving.

Prof. Christoph Städeli

Head of the Department of Upper Secondary Education, PH Zurich

Editor-in-chief of the series

Abbreviations

1Why this book?

In recent years, international interest in the Swiss system of vocational education and training (VET) has grown. Key reasons for this are: VET is very important in Swiss education and training, and the system design has some striking features; and the country’s low rate of youth unemployment is seen by many to be a result of the country’s VET system.

In line with this growing interest, the English literature on Swiss VET in English has also been growing. Apart from publications for a mainly academic audience that cover different aspects of Swiss VET, most other English publications focus on the system. In this book, however, we aim to cover both systemic and pedagogical aspects of Swiss VET but obviously in very condensed format. The focus here is on dual-track VET. School-based VET and professional education and training (PET) are covered only very briefly. In all those cases, where we focus on the overall system, we make use of the term ‘vocational and professional education and training’ (VPET) that has become somewhat common in English literature on Swiss VET.

In the preparation of this book, some publications have been of particular importance. For the current terminology and data on Swiss VET, the SERI’s (2016) ‘Facts and Figures’ publication on Swiss VPET (updated on a yearly basis) and the database of the Federal Statistical Office were enormously helpful. Data and other information from these two sources are cited without explicit reference in the text. We also would like to direct readers of this book to the rich online VPET-glossary by the SDBB, which is in large part also available in English,¹ as well as to the comprehensive work by Wettstein, Schmid and Gonon (2014) on Swiss VPET.

2Key characteristics of Swiss VET

Swiss VET consists of different programmes at the upper secondary level (ISCED level 3). From an international perspective, three characteristics of Swiss VET are clearly most important:

→VET as the predominant form of education at the upper secondary level

Looking at all new entrants to upper secondary education, a large majority of them (72% in 2013) start a VET programme. If one focuses only on the qualifications achieved at this level of education, the VET share is even higher (76% in 2013).²

→Dual-track VET as the predominant type of VET

Though school-based VET plays a certain role, more than 85% of VET students at the upper secondary level enrol in dual-track VET. This implies that they undergo apprenticeship training at a host company – accounting for the majority of total time spent in VET – and go to school part-time, in many cases 1 to 1.5 days per week. The pervasive role of dual-track VET is only possible thanks to those approx. 40% of all companies in the Swiss economy that get involved in training VET students.

→Broad range of occupations