A profession and practical experience as unique strengths

Christian Wasserfallen, FH SWITZERLAND Graduate

«Day in day out, apprentices experience what it is to work in a profession, to apply a trade and to solve tangible problems. Moreover, an apprenticeship is always a training with a subsequent connection!»

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What characterises apprenticeships?

Their main strength lies in their orientation towards practical work experience. “Day in day out, apprentices experience what it is to work in a profession, to apply the corresponding trade and to solve tangible problems.

From one day to the next, apprentices find themselves at the hear of the world of work, surrounded by adults. They must find their feet in this environment. That is no easy thing at the beginning. They have adult work colleagues, they learn to deal with demanding customers or contact partners, they are part of a team and have to take on responsibility. This has a positive impact on their personality.

The dual nature of an apprenticeship is often applauded. But what does it entail?

Apprentices learn in to different places: in the company and at the vocational school. Gaining a foothold in the economy is a huge advantage, as it offers an ideal combination of theory and practice. Furthermore, it also means that we observe very low youth unemployment rates.

There are those who believe the current apprenticeship system is obsolete. What do you think?

Many professional developments in recent years have created new challenges. That is true. Demands are increasing. Yet the apprenticeship system reacts quickly. It changes with the times, as the companies themselves change. New or reformulated apprenticeships are constantly appearing. Companies are dependent on employing the best people and want to incorporate the very latest skills into the operations. An apprenticeship is thus the most important investment a company can make in its own future. It is in no way obsolete. I see an apprenticeship as the prime example of society and the economy forming a single entity. In this respect, young people play a key role.

Is an apprenticeship a dead end if you want to get ahead in the future?

No, quite the contrary. An apprenticeship represents the start of a promising career. Successfully completing an apprenticeship opens a number of doors. I would like to recall the federal vocational baccalaureate or the advanced vocation training. The vocational baccalaureate paves the way to a university of applied sciences. The porosity of our education system also applies to apprenticeships. An apprenticeship is a training with a subsequent connection!

You are standing in front of the “FH SCHWEIZ Foundation – promoting the dual education system”. The focus of the foundation is currently on apprenticeships. Why?

You mentioned early that some people advocate against apprenticeships. We stand for the opposite position: our foundation wants to demonstrate the strengths and importance of apprenticeships and to convince both young people and their parents of the advantages of apprenticeships.

Your foundation emerged from an environment of UAS graduates. What is relationship of these graduates with apprenticeships?

Many of them began their career with an apprenticeship. Their path subsequently took them to a university of applied science. And today they occupy important positions. They know at first hand how important an apprenticeship is and support this system from personal conviction. As a foundation, we therefore know what we are talking about.