Initial vocational education and training

The workplace, the nature of work itself, and skills development are undergoing radical change. Without adequate training, young people are virtually unemployable and often destined for a life of poverty. This is where Swisscontact makes the difference.

Swisscontact believes that skills development is critical to social integration and economic development, which in turn helps to reduce poverty in the long-term. Vocational Education and Training (VET) equips young people to become effective wage-earners or entrepreneurs and boosts their long-term employability. Combined with job creation, it can reduce youth unemployment and stabilise fragile contexts. For the sustainable development of a country or region, it is crucial to establish a robust, responsive VET system, that includes education ranging from short courses delivered by formal and non-formal training providers to long-term higher education programmes. This must be backed by strong support for labour market insertion.

"For decades, Geberit has contributed to the high-quality vocational training of young professionals. We continue to pursue this goal with the joint project in Ukraine. We recognise Swisscontact as a competent partner with a great deal of experience in vocational training. "

Erwin Kälin, Head of Developing Markets, Geberit International Sales AG

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Expanding our reach

As a capacity builder and facilitator, Swisscontact intervenes on three levels:

We equip individuals with vocational skills, providing post-training and entrepreneurship support to vulnerable groups.
We strengthen service providers’ capacity to deliver more inclusive training, and work with public and private organisations to create quality training opportunities.
At the system level, Swisscontact implements reforms to create inclusive market-oriented training systems.

Swisscontact’s approach to skills development is rooted in Switzerland’s proven experience in dual VET, which is supported by strong labour market institutions and based on solid public-private partnership arrangements. We foster dialogue and collaboration between actors to catalyse change and improve their performance of school-to-work transition in the following ways:

Strengthening labour market information so that VET and insertion measures are aligned with needs and opportunities.
Improving the relevance, scope and scale of VET and labour market insertion services.
Strengthening labour market transition.

Unlocking the power of partnerships

Swisscontact attributes the success of its skills development projects to strong partnerships and collaboration with the private sector, academia and expert networks. Swisscontact actively involves the private sector in projects, whether to define trends, assess skills gaps or create complete programmes, which ultimately benefits the companies in turn. Swisscontact also builds the collaborative capacities of VET partners to link learners with enterprises and the labour market.

What we offer

To address the school-to-work transition challenge faced by young men and women, Swisscontact is dedicated to transforming existing VET systems. Swisscontact empowers providers to increase access to and enhance the quality of vocational training. We help them to improve their management capacities, infrastructure and facilities, as well as to develop curriculums, learner-centred teaching and learning materials. We also work with professional associations and networks involved with VET. At national level, Swisscontact assists authorities in designing new VET programmes or reform processes. We provide support in financing, regulating and improving the quality of systems, and establishing competency and assessment standards within national frameworks.

Swisscontact's innovative solutions

Swisscontact’s interventions create better framework conditions, foster inclusive policies and build partner capacities. We provide relevant training and labour market services to increase employability for disadvantaged groups, leading to better job opportunities and higher incomes. With better workplace practices and a skilled workforce, businesses achieve higher productivity.