Switzerland, This Swiss country, known for its chocolate and banking institutions, held federal elections a few weeks ago. The Swiss have a specific political system; In this system, not one but seven presidents are elected. The government has been in effect for more than half a century and “magic formula“, in which all parties occupy at least one of seven predetermined seats in the Executive. The Presidency rotates among these seven seats, and all its decisions are made by the President. compromiseBecause according to Switzerland, only actions based on the support of both the minority and the majority are permanent.
They don’t call it that, but in Switzerland there is another ‘formula’ based on this spirit of consensus, with results that would seem magical in other latitudes: vocational training (FP). Switzerland is one of the European models of what was once known as trade in Spain, thanks to which this country of just under nine million people has one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the Old Continent.
In June 2023 according to the latest available data EurostatHE 7.3% Most people under the age of 24 in Switzerland were unemployed and looking for work. Only a percentage that can be exceeded Germany (5.8%). Reaches in Spain 27.8%The country with the highest youth unemployment rate in Europe. The Swiss system is not only efficient but also stable in this sense. In 2012, when the West experienced one of the worst economic crises in its history and youth unemployment rose to 52% in Spain, it was 7.6% in Switzerland.
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Private sector is pulling the car
Summary from the management: “Everyone is doing their part” bobst, a company based in Lausanne, specializing in the production of capital goods, especially for packaging purposes. There, an entire wing of their factory is dedicated specifically to training what they call apprentices, who will fit into the FP in the Spanish education system.
Bobst provides training every year 200 studentsEven though they don’t look much like a student. They have an employment contract, receive a salary that increases as classes progress, and in theory rarely visit classes. In the first courses it is two days a week (three days in the company), from the second or third year onwards, only one day.
The vocational training model in Switzerland – similar to the model that has produced such good results in Germany – is based on private initiative, with the public sector – especially the cantons – playing a supporting role. According to cantonal government sources, half of the children in Neuchâtel 14 years They will receive vocational training, and the other half will continue their way to university.
In Switzerland, the Administration limits itself to certifying the minimum content list and verifying that companies comply with them. Companies also bear the cost and risk of training students. Not a small cost, because at Bobst, for example, an apprentice starts earning around 675 euros (Swiss franc equivalent) in the first year, earns 1,600 euros in the fourth and final year and automatically becomes an apprentice if hired. will have a salary 4,000 eurosit will soon rise to 7,000 euros.
According to a study by the Vocational Training Observatory of the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Training, the gross cost per apprentice amounts to approximately 30,000 euros per year on average. Although the same report shows that the cost of hiring the same profile from scratch is higher, it means savings for companies in the long run.
Although all that glitters is not gold, this system, like Germany’s, has its flaws. Like discrimination, there is a high probability that the son would have received vocational training instead of the father going to university. Another problem is that there is still a huge discrimination based on gender. That is, while almost all of the students in the automotive or mechatronics fields are male, almost all of the apprentices in the hotel management or hairdressing fields are women.
SMEs too
“Everyone is doing their part,” the manufacturer insists. MicronA.Ş., which also has a strong internal training program, serves with nearly 40 apprentices in its staff of 400 people. However, it is not only companies in the industrial sector that participate in this FP system. NestléFor example, the company, whose turnover has doubled that of Cocacola and whose main R&D&I center is in Vevey, is pursuing its own program to attract and train young people: “Nestlé needs youth”.
Although not only large companies participate in the FP circuit. For example, SMEs share the students among themselves and develop the minimum skills required by the administration, which cannot be learned in the parent company, in other SMEs through cooperation programs.
Collaboration and overview, both to flag between unions which skills will be important for the sector and to avoid wasting resources. because large companies, for example, do not retain all the apprentices they train – at Bobst they retain a third – and the rest are often placed in companies that have fewer resources and value a well-trained professional. This explains, among other things, the unemployment rate, which is barely a quarter of the rate in Spain.