Switzerland, a small Alpine country famed for its chocolate and its strong banking system, recently held federal elections. Its political setup stands out: seven presidents are elected to serve in rotation, with the presidency moving among seven seats in a “magic formula” designed so every party holds at least one seat in the executive. Decisions are framed around broad consensus, since Switzerland believes that only actions supported by both minority and majority factions endure.
Though it isn’t labeled as such, Switzerland also follows another consensus-driven approach built on a robust apprenticeship culture (FP). The country, home to just under nine million people, became a European model for what Spain once called a dual-tracking system. This model helps explain Switzerland’s notably low youth unemployment rates compared with its European peers.
June 2023 figures from Eurostat show youth unemployment around 7.3 percent for those under 24 in Switzerland, a share surpassed only by a few European peers. In Germany the rate hovered around 5.8 percent, while Spain’s youth unemployment reached troubling highs near 27.8 percent—the highest in Europe. Switzerland’s system has proven not only efficient but also stable, with a marked contrast to the 2012 European crisis when youth unemployment spiked in some countries.
What lies behind this success? Business leaders in search of a shared future often visit multinational firms like Novartis, explore cinema districts such as Neuchâtel, or engage with prestigious institutions like the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. A circle of about a hundred executives, called FemCat, represents a sizeable slice of Catalonia’s GDP and organizes biennial tours to connect with innovation leaders and import best practices from around the world.
Private sector is guiding the approach
Management in the private sector describes the ethos succinctly: everyone has a part to play. Bobst, a Lausanne-based company specializing in capital goods for packaging, dedicates a whole wing of its factory to training apprentices who will join the FP program in the Spanish sense.
Bobst alone trains around 200 students each year. These apprentices receive a salary and are on track for progression, with work integrated into their education. Early on, training involves two days of work per week and three days in the plant; in later years, the schedule moves toward one day of classroom instruction per week.
The Swiss vocational training model, much like Germany’s, leans on private initiative while the public sector—especially cantonal authorities—plays a supportive role. Cantonal sources indicate that about half of Neuchâtel’s youths around age 14 are steered toward vocational training while the other half pursue university paths.
The administration acts primarily as a certifier of required competencies and as a verifier of company compliance with the approved curriculum. Companies bear the cost and risk of training, a significant investment. In Bobst’s case, an apprentice can earn roughly 675 euros in the first year, rise to about 1,600 euros in the final year, and, if hired, may advance to higher salaries. These figures illustrate how earnings scale as experience grows, with future salaries potentially reaching several thousand euros.
Research from the Vocational Training Observatory, part of the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Training, puts the gross annual cost per apprentice at about 30,000 euros. The same study notes that hiring a fresh graduate in the same field typically costs more upfront, yet long-term saving accrues for employers who invest in training.
Like any system, there are drawbacks. Critics highlight potential gender discrimination in certain fields, with most automotive or mechatronics apprentices being male, while hotel management and hairdressing tend to have more female apprentices. There is also concern that family background can influence whether a student benefits more from vocational tracks than from university routes.
SMEs also participate
In Switzerland, the mindset is collective. Even midsize players contribute to FP. MicronA.Ş., with a strong internal training program, supports nearly 40 apprentices within a staff of 400. Not only large firms participate; Nestlé also runs programs geared toward youth, underscoring the idea that talent development strengthens the entire economy. Its Vevey R&D hub and broader global footprint illustrate how corporate investment shapes national outcomes: “Nestlé needs youth.”
Small and medium-sized enterprises share students and build the minimum skills mandated by the administration. They also collaborate with other firms to ensure apprentices gain practical, transferable competencies that a single parent company could not easily provide. This cooperative approach helps prevent wasted resources while ensuring a well-trained workforce.
Cooperation continues across unions and sectors, focusing on which skills will matter in the near future and how to allocate opportunities efficiently. Large firms may not retain every apprentice they train—Bobst keeps about a third—but the system successfully places the rest with other employers, maintaining high-quality training without inflating unemployment. In turn, this contributes to a lower youth unemployment rate than that of several other European countries.