This is a well-known feature: Geneva is the canton which has the lowest proportion of young people who enter apprenticeship directly at the end of the Cycle. 19%, against 47% in Switzerland. Who are these young people who choose apprenticeship? Are their choices influenced by their economic background? Do they find a job once they graduate? The Department of Educational Research (SRED), which depends on public education, conducted a extensive study to answer.
The SRED first looked at the vocational training certificate (AFP), which trains 17 professions, spans two years and is mainly aimed at young people having difficulties at school. The practice is carried out in business and the theory in vocational school (one day per week). The majority of these AFPs are chosen by young foreigners or those from a migrant background, from a modest socio-economic background and who have experienced school problems. The Swiss are in the minority and young people whose parents work as workers are “very clearly overrepresented”.
Another observation: apprentices are generally between 18 and 19 years old, while they finish the Cycle at around 16 years of age. AFP is therefore not the first choice, only 8% are directly involved! These students, notes the SRED, first go through a transitional period made up of school experiences (incomplete studies, support for young people leaving) or professional (internships), or even unemployment. SRED also notes that the choice of training remains very gendered. Men, overrepresented in AFP, occupy almost exclusively the places in the wood, stone, automobile and horticultural trades. What about the opportunities? 40% of graduates gain access to a job and an equally large share embarks on further studies. 22% still confess that it is difficult to find a job.
For SRED, the AFP fulfills its integration mission. But it nuances the final balance, sometimes raising a certain “precariousness” in the jobs obtained, with temporary contracts in particular.
The second path of Geneva vocational training – the Federal Certificate of Ability (CFC) – is more demanding, organized over three or four years and covers 70 professions. It takes place either in “dual” – business practice and classroom lessons – or “full time” in school. As in the AFP, entry into the CFC often shows a transition period at the end of the Cycle, except for full-time training as commercial employees and computer scientists. Here too, there is a male overrepresentation with a breakdown in the trades according to nationality and socio-economic background. Thus, notes the SRED, “Swiss apprentices whose parents occupy an executive position mainly follow apprenticeships with high standards, especially in the arts”. As for foreigners and children of workers, they are particularly present in construction, the automobile industry, services and care.
Once in possession of a dual degree, 65% of young people have a job within eighteen months and the majority are hired by their training company. Full-time CFCs often turn to further education, such as professional maturity.
Created: 23.02.2020, 18h54
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