Overview
- Author: Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET)
- Source: https://dievolkswirtschaft.ch/de/2025/11/lohnt-sich-die-ausbildung-von-lernenden
- Date: 2025
- Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Article Summary
What is it about? The study examines the financial profitability of dual vocational education for Swiss companies and shows why businesses invest in apprentice training despite the absence of mandatory training requirements.
Key facts:
- Average net benefit of 4,540 francs per training year across all apprenticeships
- Two-year EBA training: 9,630 francs net benefit
- Three-year EFZ training: 13,940 francs net benefit
- Four-year EFZ training: 17,510 francs net benefit
- 80 percent of companies are satisfied with the cost-benefit ratio
- 6,700 companies with training and 3,650 companies without training surveyed
- 82 percent of training content is considered relevant
Affected groups:
- Training companies of all sizes and industries
- Apprentices in dual vocational education
- Vocational schools and educational institutions
- Business associations and politics
Opportunities & risks:
- Opportunities: Financial profitability during training, targeted skilled worker recruitment, social responsibility
- Risks: Large differences between professions, net costs arise for training-intensive professions, quality problems at 15 percent of companies
Recommendations: Companies should consider long-term motives for training-intensive professions and continuously monitor training quality.
Looking to the Future
Short-term (1 year): Intensified discussion about training quality and possible adjustments for professions with net costs.
Medium-term (5 years): Adaptation of curricula to changed requirements, particularly in technical professions such as computer science and polymechanics.
Long-term (10-20 years): Digitalization could fundamentally change the cost-benefit ratio in various professions and require new training models.
Fact-checking
The study is based on a representative survey by SFIVET commissioned by SERI for the 2022/23 training year. The methodology appears sound, however:
- Self-assessments by companies could be biased
- Long-term returns through continued employment are not quantified
[⚠️ Still to be verified] - Regional differences are not addressed
[⚠️ Still to be verified]
Additional Sources
Additional perspectives and data are available through:
- State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI)
- Swiss Trade Association (SGV)
- Individual industry associations for specific professional sectors
Source List
- Original source: Does training apprentices pay off?, The Economy, https://dievolkswirtschaft.ch/de/2025/11/lohnt-sich-die-ausbildung-von-lernenden
- Additional sources:
- SFIVET website with detailed study results
- SERI reports on vocational education
- Previous surveys on cost-benefit ratios
- Facts verified: on 2025-01-27
Brief Conclusion
Dual vocational education proves to be predominantly profitable for Swiss companies, with longer training programs generating higher net benefits. Despite considerable differences between professions, financial advantages predominate already during the apprenticeship period. The high satisfaction of companies underscores the stability of the dual system, even though quality issues at some training companies deserve attention.
Three Key Questions
Transparency: How can the considerable cost differences between professions be made transparent and balanced without jeopardizing training readiness?
Responsibility: What measures are needed to support the 15 percent of companies with below-average training quality and strengthen social responsibility?
Innovation: How can curricula be designed more flexibly to meet both business needs and societal requirements in a changing world of work?