Career choice: Who is responsible for what?

The fact that her daughter Lea finally got the apprenticeship as a pharmacy specialist is a real success story, says Simone Schefer, 47, on the phone. «She worked incredibly hard for it.» A few weeks later, at Simone Schefer and Manuel Caspani's family table in their bright flat in the centre of Zurich, the relief is palpable.

The story of searching for and finding an apprenticeship as a pharmacy specialist bubbles out of 15-year-old Lea. What now seems easy and relaxed was the complete opposite at the beginning. «Our daughter faced a huge mountain at the beginning,» recalls father Manuel Caspani, 46. «She was completely overwhelmed and totally blocked.» Now he marvels at what his daughter - still just a child - has achieved as a young person.

At 13, I wasn't ready to make such a big decision as choosing a career.

Lea Schefer

Parents under pressure

Lea's father was also challenged after the first information event at the careers information centre when he was presented with a tight schedule for finding a career. «Not only did this timetable cause stress, but the mums and dads also started to put pressure on each other with the stages they had already reached.»

While other young people around her had known since the 4th grade what career field they were interested in, Lea had no plan at all. «I wasn't ready for something that big at 13!» For a decision that would influence her future life.

She has heard from all sides that she doesn't have to make this decision for her entire life, that professions are changed nowadays and that the Swiss education system is permeable. «But in the end, initial training does have quite a lot of influence. After all, it's a question of time and money to change professions again, isn't it?» she asks rhetorically.

Frustration and simmering energy

The early days of finding a career were therefore characterised by frustration and anger. One floor up, in her room, she shows how she counteracted these feelings. The well-equipped make-up table was the most important source of relaxation. «Make-up is totally meditative for me,» says Lea, «sometimes I just sit down and try out make-up options, even if I don't want to go out.» Last but not least, her football club kept her active, where she could release all the energy that was bubbling inside her.

We asked ourselves all the time whether we were doing enough.

Simone Schefer, mother of Lea

At the same time, her parents also had to discuss how to tackle the issue, to which their daughter only reacted with rejection. «We were under stress ourselves, asking ourselves all the time whether we were doing enough,» recalls Simone Schefer. Finding the right balance between nudging and leaving things alone was difficult.

«A mum in our circle of friends combed through the entire careers fair with her daughter, we let Lea go alone with friends, just as she wanted,» says the head of urban planning. In the evening, her daughter came home with her hands full of free gifts and the hope that she had won one of the many competitions. However, she had not made any progress in her choice of career.

Taking the receiver into your own hands

The now eleven-year-old brother Marlon remembers that his sister was suddenly absorbed. «I felt like she had to do homework all the time.» The search for a taster job made a particular impression on him at the time. «I imagine it was incredibly difficult to have to talk to strangers on the phone.» A point that his sister felt the same way at the time.

To get over this hurdle, Lea finally activated her own network. «My schoolmate's father works as a chef in a retirement and care home,» she explains. «When I told her that I was interested in working as a chef, she thought I should get in touch with him. Knowing who I was talking to on the phone made that first call easier.» On her own initiative, she was able to arrange her first taster apprenticeship this way.

Being able to do a taster apprenticeship with a friend helped Lea to overcome certain fears.

Manuel Caspani, father of Lea

Positive experience as an anxiety-reliever to find an apprenticeship

«During the taster session, I quickly realised that cooking wasn't my profession,» recalls the sixth form student. «I still like baking and cooking, but it remains a hobby.» Nevertheless, this first taster apprenticeship was also significant from father Manuel Caspani's point of view.

«This father, a neighbour of ours, is also a vocational school teacher and was very open to our daughter. Being able to complete the taster apprenticeship with him was a positive experience for Lea. It helped her to overcome certain fears.» Mum Simone also confirms: «The people at this institution were very relaxed and approachable. This experience paved the way for Lea's further career choice process.»

The positive experience of the first taster job set the whole career choice process in motion in one fell swoop. «The inhibition threshold for approaching potential companies had lowered considerably,» recalls Lea's father.

Her mother agrees with him: «Lea opened up about choosing a career and began to seriously consider her options and aspirations.» She herself began to show her daughter videos of careers that she thought suited her. The direction? «I saw her in a nursing or medical profession because of her interests and communication skills.»

Draw comparisons

The interest she aroused in Lea showed that her mother was right. A short time later, she decided to call the pharmacy and drugstore where the family goes in and out for a taster apprenticeship as a chemist. «Lea knew what it was like there and which people worked there. That made it easier for her to make the call,» the mum is convinced. The phone call was successful, but she was offered a taster opportunity as a pharmacy specialist and not as a chemist. She had a taster for three days and was thrilled.

All the conversations with different people helped me to recognise what really suits me.

Lea Schefer

To be sure she was making the right decision, she arranged further taster days as a chemist and medical practice assistant (MPA) and also gained experience in another pharmacy. «I wanted to be able to make comparisons before I made a final decision,» says Lea. This approach was particularly appreciated by her father Manuel Caspani and showed him that his daughter was not only getting a little older, but also a little more mature during her career choice.

What helped us decide on the right apprenticeship

During this time, Lea talked a lot about her career choice and also took the opportunity to speak to the careers counsellor at secondary school. «All these conversations with this specialist, my parents and my friends helped me to organise my thoughts and realise what really suited me,» explains Lea looking back.

She gradually ruled out alternative professions. «The activities of an MPA were a little too one-sided for me, I didn't want to administer syringes all day. And the profession of pharmacist seemed more varied than that of a chemist,» she says, explaining her decision at the time to focus on an apprenticeship as a pharmacy specialist.

In the end, she applied to the two pharmacies where she had felt very comfortable during the taster days. «The fact that Lea paid attention to the atmosphere and her feeling in the potential training company was very reassuring for me as a father,» says Manuel Caspani, who works as an administrative employee in the building construction department. He himself didn't work a day longer as a carpenter after his apprenticeship in an unsatisfactory training company; his daughter's career choice revived his bad experiences. «I didn't want her to experience the same thing.»

The worry was unfounded, Lea made the decision carefully. And suddenly had two apprenticeships to choose from. «Seeing my daughter at her job interview was a special experience for me,» says Simone Schefer. «She handled it with incredible aplomb.» What's more, both pharmacies probably sensed her daughter's motivation during the taster session. Lea decided in favour of the pharmacy where the range of services had been expanded to include a children's pharmacy and customer traffic was correspondingly higher; the pharmacy that she has known since she was a child.

Pride, relief and anticipation

A brief silence at the family table - reliving this career choice journey evokes emotions. In the end, however, the positive experiences far outweigh the negative ones. «I'm incredibly proud of Lea,» says mum Simone Schefer, breaking the silence. «The fact that she was able to sign the apprenticeship contract is her success. She organised and managed everything herself.»

«At times, this process was really exhausting and gruelling,» adds Manuel Caspani. «But in the end, Lea made incredible leaps and bounds and has now found an apprenticeship that really suits her.» Lea's enthusiasm for the profession is reflected in her shining eyes when she lists the aspects that convinced her to do an apprenticeship as a pharmacy specialist: «I will be able to acquire a lot of knowledge about medicines and natural remedies, do computer work, make purchases and, last but not least, I'm really looking forward to customer contact.»

She will soon be starting her apprenticeship. «Then you can buy me a Playstation 5!» exclaims brother Marlon happily. Earning his own money sounds very tempting to him. In the not too distant future, the topic of career choice will also come up for the fifth-grader. Parents Manuel Caspani and Simone Schefer take a look at each other and laugh. «Oh dear, in two years it'll be that time again!»