No abstract

PurposeThe paper describes the Swiss Vocational Education and Training (VET) system, its crucial role and challenges with respect to the inclusion of vulnerable groups and investigates the effectiveness of the efforts undertaken to promote inclusion in VET so far.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical research focusing on various indicators of inclusion (national monitoring data and own studies) is analysed.FindingsThe overall findings show that equity and inclusion of persons with a migration background or special education needs in VET have been successfully promoted but can be improved.Research limitations/implicationsLong-term, in-depth longitudinal data regarding some issues are still scarce.Practical implicationsThe paper provides information about young people having difficulties to access and complete VET or who are at-risk of exclusion and points out further courses of action.Originality/valueA comprehensive and detailed account of the current state of inclusion in Swiss VET and of related systemic problems is given.

Purpose -The two-year basic training course leading to the Basic Federal Certificate was established in Switzerland by the new Vocational Training Act in 2002 with the intention of ensuring upper secondary education and training for disadvantaged young people. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the findings of a longitudinal study of youths who participated in a two-year vocational education and training (VET) programme. The main objective is the evaluation of intentions regarding the two-year training course. Design/methodology/approach -A sample of 319 trainees on a two-year training course in the retail sales and hotel sectors were questioned at the end of their training about their educational and family background, their occupational and personal situation as well as their prospects. Their integration into the labour market was recorded 14 months later. These results are compared with the results of a sample of 183 graduates of an Elementary traineeship in the same occupational fields. Findings -The results of the study confirm some assumptions made about the effects of the training with Basic Federal VET Certificate. However, the findings also point to crucial aspects that require further investigation. Originality/value -The findings of the investigation provide insight into initial experiences with the new standardised VET programme. In addition, the presented research is the first longitudinal study focusing on the occupational perspectives of underachieving youths in Switzerland.

Over the last 15 years, different countries have developed low-level vocational education and training (VET) programmes for young people who struggle to enter or complete education at upper secondary level. Switzerland introduced nationally standardised two-year initial VET programmes in 2005, Norway in 2016. Data of interviews with curriculum experts in Norway and Switzerland provided an empirical basis to examine the underlying intentions for offering these programmes and the respective criteria for defining the learning outcomes and the curricula. The reference frame in Norway for identifying appropriate learning outcomes and selecting learning goals are the national curricula of the respective four-year VET programmes. In Switzerland, the learning outcomes of two-year curricula are defined by lower-level occupational activities which are usually identified in analyses involving active workers and experts in the respective fields. Despite these differences, the criteria for developing two-year curricula are largely the same in both countries. The findings further show that two-year VET programmes in Norway are not intended to lead to a direct labour market entry but are understood as a first step of a staged qualification whereas in Switzerland they are designed to find a viable balance between employability and permeability to the more demanding three-or four-year VET programmes. In both countries, the twoyear apprenticeships do not correspond to a holistic concept of vocation.

No abstract