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The Dual Vocational Training System A Swiss Model for Success

Ren Eichenberger, rene.eichenberger@rdm.com Switzerland has a long tradition in using dual vocational training system, which means many years of experience to look back on. However, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences are phasing out the Swiss dual system, just as interest in the model is growing at international level. In European countries, more than 5 million jobs have been wiped out since the start of the economic crisis in 2007, with young people most severely affected: Skilled posts are now harder to come by, especially for young people looking for work. There also is an increasing number of people who only have temporary contracts and internships. Across many parts of Europe, 20 40% of young people are unemployed, with Germany as the exception, where the same figure stands at around 8%. Problems with livelihood and the accompanying potential for social and political unrest are not the only issues being faced in many countries: There are also considerable follow-up costs for individual states. Experience tells us that anyone unable to find their way into the workplace when they are younger will find it much more difficult to 'catch up' later on in life. Despite the uncertain situation in Switzerland because of the massive overvaluation of the Swiss Franc and the gloomy economic outlook, the country is still doing very well compared with other nations, with a mere 4% of 15 to 24 year-olds out of work at present. The Success Story behind the Dual Vocational Training System The country's success is based not least on the dual vocational training system with practical training in a company in parallel with attendance at a vocational college such as the GIBB in Bern. This model has stood the test of time and will continue to do so and it is used as a guiding model in many countries with good reason. A modern society cannot merely consist of theorists it needs, and will need, a sufficient number of professionals with practical training who can roll up their sleeves, get stuck in and get the job done, and who know the challenges faced in practice. In terms of vocational training, experienced staff are required who are able to fill trainees with enthusiasm for a particular profession. Switzerland should stand its ground faced with inflammatory chastisement from the OECD time and time again, which sees the country accused of having too low a number of graduates. Let's not forget that recent developments in some of its European neighbors can easily be attributed to the fact that training there has been made overly academic. Not So Easy to Replicate Germany has a similar dual vocational training system and is, like Switzerland, looking into official recognition by the international community, something which countries both failed to do previously, mainly because of a lack of information. The recently published OECD report on vocational training in Switzerland, which gave top marks to its system, fuels hope for better recognition. However, as good as the country's training system is, transferring and adapting it into the social reality of other countries is another matter, and one that poses problems. Often in Switzerland, it is not made clear which prerequisites must be fulfilled for this training system to function correctly. The system in Switzerland is a long-standing tradition and includes finely-tuned partnerships between companies and government departments, as well as collaboration between professional associations, employers' organizations, and trade unions.

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Constant Adjustments are Necessary There are critics who are openly in favor of phasing out the system as it does not necessarily guarantee that students will learn certain key competences and basic skills. To ensure that the undoubtedly successful dual training system will continue to gain acceptance in the future, adjustments have been made in recent times to meet new requirements, and will need to continue to be made in future too. An important milestone was reached with the professional baccalaureate, which means that young people who have taken the vocational training route to go on to study at advanced technical schools or even at universities. In many cases, school leavers with this qualification are in higher demand on the job market than other school leavers who have taken a more academic route, thanks to their high level of practical skills and training targeted towards work in a particular profession. Rapid advances in technology, which quickly render job descriptions obsolete and cause the half-life period of any acquired knowledge to shrink drastically, are a constant headache for training centers, tutors, and trainees. As a result, any knowledge imparted over the training period must be broad enough to ensure that young people are flexible in how they adapt to new requirements following their graduation, and that they are capable of switching between related professions. It is clear that this kind of flexibility requires a broader level of theoretical knowledge, as well as, most notably, more extensive IT skills. Today, these are now widely considered to be basic skills across virtually all professions. A further consequence of these rapid advances in technology is that a person's initial training no longer determines their career path later in life. Life-Long Learning Regardless of what our initial training was made up of, the life-long learning that follows it is what counts. For a successful career, continual further training that relates as much as possible to the jobs market is vital, as is motivation and enjoyment for life-long learning. The existing dual training system must be optimized on an ongoing basis by its protagonists and those that promote it. At the moment, these protagonists are working on personalizing the subject matter studied in order to do more justice to the wide variety of talents and aptitudes of students. What's more, thought is being given to which extra rules will be put in place as part of a legal framework for further education and training. Indian minister Kapil Sibal, who has shown great interest in the Swiss model, summed it up as follows at an education fair in Delhi: "Each child is like a star in the sky. They have their own particular talents and strengths. Our task is to focus on individual skills, so that all these stars can shine." R&M and the Dual Vocational Training System R&M is a firm believer in the dual vocational training system and the company is currently training 27 apprentices across different fields twice as many as three years ago. With their outstanding grades and achievements time and time again, many of these apprentices are making real headway. R&M's trainee design engineers have just received an award for a project in which they designed an easily integrable high-performance electric engine for mountain bikes, known as "CyberSpeed". The trainees are confident that with the "CyberSpeed" they have developed a product that is superior to conventional electric bikes lighter and more powerful.

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