Attestation apprenticeship: opportunity or dead end?

What should you do if your school grades are not good enough for an apprenticeship as a healthcare assistant or a commercial apprenticeship? In many professions, this is no longer a reason to switch to another field. In the healthcare sector, in addition to the three-year apprenticeship mentioned above, there is also a two-year apprenticeship to become a health and social care assistant, while the apprenticeship to become an office assistant also lasts two years. Both are basic vocational training programmes leading to the Federal Vocational Certificate EBA.

Professionals with an EBA are considered qualified workers even without subsequent training.

The predecessor of the certificate apprenticeship is the apprenticeship, a barely formalised shortened vocational training programme. A particularly important innovation of the EBA apprenticeship is that, if you perform well, it entitles you to obtain an EFZ in two further years of training. The path via the certificate apprenticeship therefore takes one year longer. However, even without further training, professionals with an EBA are considered qualified workers.

Switzerland has undergone a major change in recent decades. Whereas in the 1970s it was still common to work without formal vocational training, workers without a diploma are now in the minority and are often the first to lose their jobs when the economy weakens. The fact that the vast majority of people today have a vocational qualification is a success of the Swiss education system. However, without it, it has become more difficult to find well-paid, secure jobs.

In education policy, the conviction has prevailed that starting vocational education and training as soon as possible after compulsory schooling is crucial. Those who miss out on this will find it difficult to gain a professional qualification later on. This is despite the fact that many new opportunities have been created in the last two decades to catch up on training in adulthood or to have practically acquired skills recognised with a diploma.

Lower income than after an EFZ apprenticeship

The certificate apprenticeship is therefore a starting point, but is it enough to survive on the labour market? The federal government had the earnings and employment opportunities of workers with an EBA analysed in 2016. The most important results: EBA graduates are less likely to find a job than those with an EFZ and only marginally easier than those who have completed an apprenticeship. It should be emphasised that the vast majority of all respondents found employment.

The picture is similar in terms of income: EFZ graduates earn more, semi-skilled workers only marginally less. However, the EBA and EFZ are not worlds apart in terms of income. The EBA is therefore a good way to enter the labour market. How the income of professionals with this qualification will develop in the long term has not yet been analysed. Many basic training programmes that were only created a few years ago do not yet allow for long-term studies.

In demand in health and care facilities

One successful job profile is that of a health and social care assistant (AGS). Over 1000 people graduate with this qualification every year and they are in demand in health and care centres. Due to their level of qualification, they earn slightly less, but the care centres can afford to employ them for conversations and walks with patients, among other things. AGSs have the opportunity to become healthcare assistants in a shortened EFZ apprenticeship.

Around a third of those who start an EBA apprenticeship go on to obtain an EFZ. In addition, around 10 per cent of EBA graduates pursue another form of further training. According to experts, these are encouraging figures. However, this also means that thousands of graduates each year are content with the vocational certificate as their highest educational qualification.

Philipp Gonon, Professor of Vocational Education and Training at the Institute of Education at the University of Zurich, is not surprised: «People who are less highly qualified are also less inclined to continue their education. Perhaps they have not only had a positive experience of their previous training. Perhaps there is also a lack of low-threshold programmes.»

Every year, the certificate apprenticeship paves the way for around 8,000 young people to enter vocational education and training. This is definitely the better option than not starting any further training after secondary school. However, the labour market is moving towards more demanding jobs. If you want to keep pace, you have to continue your education. However, the EFZ is the ticket to a wide range of further training opportunities. A vocational certificate is not enough.