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Most Swiss apprentices find work quickly

Two boys taking place in a national apprenticeship trial day
Two nurses instruct schoolboys in resuscitation techniques during a national apprenticeship open day. Keystone

Some 85% of Swiss graduating from an apprenticeship find a job within three months; almost half of them stay loyal to the employer who trained them.

A long-term study conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO)External link found that 46% of Swiss with a so-called federal proficiency certificate stay with the company where they completed their apprenticeship. Whilst most find work within three months, some 19% register as unemployed at some point during the two and a half years after graduation.

 + Why Switzerland does well with apprenticeships

Between 2012 and 2015, the FSO surveyed the career paths of 89,000 holders of an upper secondary school certificate.

The study also showed that for vocational training graduates, there was often no clear-cut boundary between training and employment periods. Many graduates, especially in the health sector, continued their training in their chosen field and often went on to complete further study at a university.

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An apprentice practices styling hair

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One in four Swiss apprentices changes career course

This content was published on The Swiss Federal Statistical Office studied a group of 60,500 apprentices across Switzerland who began their vocational training in 2012, following their progress over four years. The resulting study, released on Wednesday, showed that about 15,000 trainees in that group had their employment contracts terminated before the end of their apprenticeship. Out of those, 78%…

Read more: One in four Swiss apprentices changes career course


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