Teaching is just the beginning

Many people who decide in favour of an apprenticeship and against secondary school argue: «I want to work.» The work in a company, the contact with the adult world, the apprenticeship salary - these are what make apprenticeships attractive to many. It is no longer the case that an apprenticeship is a decision against studying.

Basic vocational training with a vocational baccalaureate opens up just as many opportunities as a baccalaureate: after completing your apprenticeship, you can work in your chosen profession or study at a university of applied sciences. For example, a forest warden can become a landscape architect, an electronics technician can become an electrical engineer and a businesswoman can become a computer scientist, as the following examples show.

More and more paths lead to the Matura. At the same time, more and more professions require the Matura.

Technical apprenticeships are a valuable preparation for studying engineering. Anyone who develops new interests during or after the apprenticeship can change subject or complete the preparatory course for the entrance exam at a university or ETH, the so-called Passerelle. If you pass the entrance exam, you can study at any Swiss university or ETH. One option between the vocational baccalaureate and grammar school is the specialised secondary school, which is available at various locations and in various disciplines: Health, social work, education, communication and information (applied linguistics), design and art, music and theatre, applied psychology.

More and more paths are leading to the Matura, but the Matura is also required for more professions than before. For example, to train as a nursery school teacher or physiotherapist. It is therefore definitely worth thinking about a baccalaureate school at an early stage. It is also not a problem to complete the Matura after completing your apprenticeship - as long as you are able to study efficiently and reproduce what you have learnt in the exam situation. However, all paths to higher education have one thing in common: in order to succeed, you have to be prepared to put a lot of time and energy into learning.

Ten hours at the computer is no problem for me.

Michelle Andrey, 29, from Zurich, completed an apprenticeship at a commercial college, but felt that she wasn't being challenged enough. She then completed her vocational baccalaureate. She has been studying computer science for three years and works part-time as a product manager for a software company.

"Towards the end of school, I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I decided to do a commercial apprenticeship, which left me with lots of options. I did an apprenticeship at a commercial college, which was followed by an internship at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

But working as a saleswoman wasn't my thing, I felt underchallenged but still didn't know where I wanted to go. I only took temporary jobs and kept travelling. I also completed my vocational baccalaureate without knowing exactly what for. After that, I started looking seriously. Should I turn my hobby, photography, into a career? Would applied psychology be the right thing for me?

I found what I was looking for in another temporary job at an IT company. The development of computer programmes fascinated me and I was quickly able to take on responsibility. I was the product manager of a piece of software that our company developed, I organised its further development and carried out training courses for customers.

Now I wanted to understand more about the subject, and almost three years ago I started the iCompetence programme at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. This is a computer science programme with a specialisation in design and management. It's also about how a programme should look, how to make it user-friendly and how users should experience it.

Balancing work and study

The beginning was not easy. It was unusual to go back to school and do homework. I was one of the few who had no prior knowledge of computer science. So I had to study and read more than the others. I also work 60 per cent. It's sometimes exhausting when there are deadlines at work and exam time at university at the same time. I have to work hard, but it's fun and I enjoy learning new things.

In order to have time for sport, culture or private projects, I have to be efficient at work and at university. Nevertheless, I really enjoy studying and I already regret it when this time is over. Maybe I'll do a year or two of programming afterwards. My new employer would make this possible. After that, it's quite possible that I'll return to the interface between programming, design and project management. Ten hours a day in front of the computer is no problem for me - as long as I have enough balance, can work out or relax by cooking."

After my apprenticeship, I soon realised that I would like to study.

Markus Meier, 33, from Zurich, was fascinated by technology from an early age. After completing his vocational baccalaureate, he began an apprenticeship as an electronics technician. He now works as a development engineer.

"It was clear to me that I wanted to learn something technical. I tinkered with my Kosmos electronics kit and just found it exciting. I'm sure I was also inspired by my father, who was originally a laboratory technician and was selling medical equipment at the time I chose my career. I was less interested in grammar school, even though - or perhaps because - my two older sisters had chosen this path.

After trial apprenticeships at Siemens and Alcatel, I came across the Winterthur Mechatronics School, an apprenticeship workshop where I was offered an apprenticeship contract as an electronics technician. It was customary to do the vocational baccalaureate. I wasn't yet thinking about whether I wanted to go to university, but I thought it was a good idea to keep this option open.

For me, it was more the school that was stressful, but also the intermediate exams after two years. I got through cleanly with an average of 4.0. I liked the technical work, and overall I have fond memories of my apprenticeship. My final apprenticeship project was an electronic cube that displayed a randomly generated number at the touch of a button.

Electrical engineering or computer science?

Towards the end of my apprenticeship, I realised that I would like to study. The question was then whether I should choose electrical engineering or computer science. My main interest had always been programming, so computer science would have been the obvious choice. However, because I would have had gaps compared to the computer scientists I had trained, I decided in favour of electrical engineering.

After the RS, I started at the ZHAW in Winterthur, where I met most of my classmates again. I had slightly underestimated the amount of learning required, and after the assessment exams I was advised to repeat the first year. After the foundation course, I was able to choose my own subjects. Again, I went in the direction of computer science, and I did better there. Of course, whenever exams came up, it became more stressful, but I got on well with the applied subjects.

My life doesn't just take place in front of a screen.

I have now been working as a development engineer for eight years at the company that employed me after my studies. Even today, I still have to keep up to date with the latest developments in computer science. Sometimes I do this practically while I'm programming something, sometimes I read a book over the weekend.

My life doesn't just take place in front of a screen. I enjoy being outdoors, taking photos and cooking. But I'm also involved in a Linux distribution group (open software developed by countless people around the world), where I invest one or two evenings a week. Yes, I really work in the field that I'm also very interested in privately."

You belong in the forest!

Yves Maurer, 38, from Bern, trained as a forest warden, completed his vocational baccalaureate and then studied landscape architecture. He now works at the Federal Office for Spatial Development and teaches at the vocational school for the construction industry in Zurich.

«My first career aspiration was to be a carpenter. But during a taster apprenticeship, I realised that this didn't suit me at all. Then my godfather said to me: "You belong in the forest!» After several trial apprenticeships, I was convinced and started an apprenticeship at the Zurich City Forestry Office on the Zürichberg.

My teacher Luigi was a proud forest warden and he wanted to make me a proud forest warden too. He said to me early on: «You'll do the best final apprenticeship exam and I'll take you there.» The confidence he gave me was something unique for me as a 16-year-old. The way he introduced me to the profession still characterises me today. He didn't want me to do the vocational baccalaureate during my apprenticeship. He didn't want me at school more than one day a week, because he was convinced that a forest warden learns in the forest. So I completed the apprenticeship without the BMS - in fact with the best grades in my year.

The hard ground of reality

In my first job as a forest warden, again with the city of Zurich, I landed on the hard ground of professional reality: I had learnt to do things precisely, to limb a tree cleanly. But my superiors only wanted it to be done quickly and the branches to be removed. I constantly had to put my quality standards on the back burner and thereby hurt my professional pride.

I had a 60 per cent workload. In addition, I was logging on my own account, doing gardening work and training in horticulture. After two years, I resigned, went to New Zealand for three months and completed my vocational baccalaureate on my return.

I became more and more interested in spatial planning and I now work as a geoinformation specialist at the Federal Office for Spatial Development.

I financed my life largely independently again with gardening and forestry work. During my vocational baccalaureate, I discovered the agricultural architecture programme and enrolled. After graduating, undecided about what I wanted to do, I got an assistant position at the University of Applied Sciences in Rapperswil. During this time, I discovered that I enjoyed teaching and continued my training in geographical information systems. Essentially, you work with spatial information that is combined with other data in order to gain new insights. I then went on to complete a two-year university distance learning programme in this field.

I then taught at the vocational school for the building trade in Zurich and worked in a planning office. I became more and more interested in spatial planning and I now work as a geoinformation specialist at the Federal Office for Spatial Development. A small part of my work continues to be training and further education; I would like to develop further in this direction.

My former teacher Luigi taught me to use tools purposefully and creatively. I want to do the same with the tools from my current profession. For me, training and developing people and helping them to find their calling is one of the most rewarding tasks there is."