Teenagers choose apprenticeships over high school

The 96,000 Swiss students completing compulsory schooling have just a few days left to decide their immediate future. But many have already made their choices. The latest survey by the State Secretariat for Education , conducted between March and April, released Tuesday, shows that a majority of young people have opted for an apprenticeship. In second place are programs leading to a high school diploma and general education schools.

In terms of post-compulsory education, "gender differences appear," the federal study notes. Thus, a slight majority of girls decided to continue their studies, while 60% of boys chose vocational courses.

Among the apprenticeship rankings, the most popular training programs are commercial clerk, community health and care assistant, IT technician, and retail sales manager. A new sector has appeared in the top 10 this year: cabinetmaking and joinery.

The number of apprenticeship places (around 75,000) remained stable this year in Switzerland compared to the previous three years. However, it is lower than in 2020 and 2021 (over 87,000 places).