Hundreds of learning places remain vacant

August is that of the start of apprenticeship for thousands of young people in Switzerland. However, more than 9,500 places are still vacant for the year 2025-2026, according to the site orientation.ch. Moreover, Or nearly 17% of the 56,000 places that the Federal Statistical Office (OFS) listed last February.

If the phenomenon is observed on a national scale, the French -speaking cantons are particularly affected, according to the OFS. Consequently, There were 1271 places available at the end of July just in French.

Some cantons display disturbing figures. Furthermore, At the end of July, the canton of Vaud still had 641 unoccupied places. Consequently, Geneva and Valais follow him, with 167 and 151 vacant places respectively. However, The Jura is a good student in French -speaking Switzerland, with only 37 still to be filled.

Several key areas suffer from a glaring lack of apprentices: the building. Meanwhile, the hotel and restoration and the personal care concentrates a large part of the places that have remained vacant. Similarly, Among the most affected professions, five stand out in French -speaking Switzerland, each with hundreds learning places remain vacant more than 40 stations not provided. Consequently, Cook. For example, installer-electrician, assistant in community care and health, manager in hotel-intenture and farmer occupy the first places in the classification of unloved trades.

This shortage is not new: for a decade, the number of apprentices has been decreasing in Switzerland. Meanwhile, The rate of learning places according to jobs dropped almost 5% in 2012 to 4.2% in 2022, accentuating the lack of qualified labor in already precarious sectors. The Geneva dropout is particularly marked compared to the federal average. In 2022, the canton only displayed 1.6% of learning places compared to the number of jobs. What nourish the concern about the system’s ability to ensure succession.

Hundreds learning places remain vacant

Learning in search of political recognition

The national councilor Jacques hundreds learning places remain vacant Nicolet (UDC/VD) tried twice to promote vocational training. in March then in June. He notably proposed Incentive measures for businesses and a salary increase in apprenticesup to 600 more francs per month. He thus wishes to compensate for the real cost of training in the field. better adapt to the job market.

To date, the Federal Council has replied that the framework conditions were sufficient. A status quo deplored by the Vaudois elected official. He believes that “if vocational training was as lucrative as that, many more companies would be interested in it”.

For him. the disinterest of apprentices is not the only problem, because the current crisis also results from a progressive disengagement of formative companies. “Many business leaders consider apprenticeship training as an investment, not as a financial boon,” he said.

An analysis shared by Laura Rod, cook and cooking teacher with apprentices in the canton of Vaud. “An apprentice is not an employee,” she explains. It takes time, patience, and it costs money. They make mistakes, some products can be spoiled, but that’s normal. “

Jacques Nicolet also points to the effects of a broader cultural evolution. “While only 12% of young people were moving towards the gymnasium in the 1970s, more than 40% today. This valued route dries up the pool of candidates for learning, ”he estimates. He calls for a Reinforcement of professional orientation And to a stronger involvement of parents in the orientation. choices of their children.

Geneva wants to reverse the trend

In Geneva. where the learning rate is particularly low and the highest vacant hundreds learning places remain vacant places in Switzerland, the Department of Public Instruction, Training and Youth (DIP) recognizes a series of structural brakes. The very urbanized canton is turned towards the tertiary sector. attracts a qualified foreign workforce, which limits the local recourse to vocational training. Large international companies. not very familiar with the Swiss system and where the working language is sometimes not French, are also little involved.

According to the authorities, ignorance of the dual system also penalizes learning in Geneva. They claim that “vocational training benefits from recognition more solidly anchored in German-speaking Switzerland. where it is often perceived as a natural path”, to justify the gap with the overseas cantons.

To deal with this shortage. the DIP launched several initiatives which include the presence of training councilors in each establishment of the orientation cycle, a redesign hundreds learning places remain vacant of the orientation courses and a reinforced communication with parents, in particular via a newspaper “Engineering of Trades”. On the business side. the Office for Orientation, Vocational and Continuous Training (OFPC) offers support for recruitment aid, individualized monitoring of young people and support for obtaining the authorization to train.

The authorities underline that in 2024. Geneva recorded one of its best rates of contracts signed, with a total of 2482 learning in the dual sector all routes combined. For the first time, more than 5% of students leaving the compulsory school had opted for this path.

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