What Can the U.S. Learn From Switzerland, a World Leader in Apprenticeships?

Two years ago, President Obama set a goal for the United States to “double and diversify” apprenticeships, bringing the “earn while you learn” model to more Americans.

As part of that effort, the administration signed agreements with Switzerland and Germany, seeking to learn from two of the world’s leaders in apprenticeships. Top officials — including Jill Biden, wife of the vice president and a longtime community-college instructor — have traveled to the countries to study their systems.

Meanwhile, European companies like BMW and Nestle, frustrated by their inability to recruit and retain skilled workers in the United States, have begun offering European-style apprenticeships here.

So what can the United States learn from Switzerland, a country where 40 percent of employers offer apprenticeships and two-thirds of high-school graduates participate in them? The Chronicle sat down recently with Martin Dahinden, Switzerland’s ambassador to the United States, to find out. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q. As politicians seek to increase apprenticeships here in the U.S., they’ve pointed to the European “dual track” system as a model. How does the Swiss system work?

A. In a nutshell, it is a common responsibility between business and government. The government sets standards, in tight consultation with business, and provides the certificates and classroom training. Business is the driver with regards to content, and makes available the workplace for apprentices to get practical skills.

Apprentices are usually 16 when they start. The programs last two to four years — it depends on the qualifications and the complexity of the profession. There are 238 professions students can choose from, both blue-collar and white-collar. In addition to classical training — bakers and welders, for example — we have people studying banking, insurance, IT.

Before they decide on a profession, they have a trial apprenticeship. They work for a week to get familiar with it. It’s also an opportunity for the employer to see if the person is fit for the job.

Q. Many Americans are suspicious of approaches that “track” students into academic or vocational paths in high school. You have kids pick a career when they’re just 14. What happens if they change their minds? Are they stuck?

A. No. What is not recommended is to switch during the apprenticeship. Afterwards, the system is very open. Somebody could graduate and continue in college or a specialized technical school. There are a lot of different options to step out and develop a skill.

Something I always emphasize is that Switzerland is poor in resources. We are landlocked, and we don’t have great conditions for agriculture. Therefore, human skills are the basis for our economy. We need to make the best use of human skills.

Q. Here in the U.S., employers bear most of the cost of training apprentices. One industry group told me its members spend an average of $80,000 per student on the academic portion of their programs. They said that’s one of the reasons apprenticeships haven’t taken root here. Who pays for apprenticeships in Switzerland?

A. There is a contribution from the government. Public funds cover a third of the costs, which is mainly public schools. The private sector bears two-thirds of the cost. The main contribution of the private sector is to make available trainers to work with the apprentices. They also provide equipment and salary.

One of the differences between Switzerland and the U.S. is that you get skilled labor on the labor market. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. There are five million to eight million posts open [in the U.S.] where people don’t have the skills to fill them. In Switzerland and Germany, private enterprise creates the environment for themselves. They train people they would like to find on the labor market.

Q. What are the advantages of apprenticeships over traditional college programs?

A. If people are trained in classroom settings, the risk is big that those people would not be trained with the most modern equipment and technology. If you are in a company that is advanced, competitive, you are much more sure that cutting-edge technology is used there.

Another important advantage with apprenticeship is that if you have only classroom training, you are working in a social group that is very similar to you. When you are in a company, you have different age groups, you have people with very different skills, so there is a kind of knowledge transfer.

The most important thing apprentices learn that you don’t learn in the classroom is how to interact with the customer. That’s important in all of the trades, where you have an interest in starting your own business.

Q. So clearly there are benefits for apprentices. What are the benefits for business? Do employers have to be sold on apprenticeships the way they do here?

A. Not that much. In Switzerland they consider it necessary to have access to skilled labor. Not every company has apprentices. You need a certain size and need to be in position to make an investment. But the advantage is that they can keep two out of five apprentices that would fit best in the company.

In Switzerland people work for a long time in a company. It’s loyalty. Very often, identification with the company is significant. Cost-benefit: It pays off in long run.

Q. Another reasons apprenticeships aren’t as popular here as they are in parts of Europe is that many Americans see them as a “lesser” track for students who couldn’t make it in college. You don’t seem to have that image problem in Switzerland. Was there ever a stigma surrounding apprenticeships in Switzerland, and how should the U.S. tackle its own biases?

A. This is a worldwide stumbling block. In many places, people think that there are two tracks, and if you miss the right track, you will not succeed. This is not the case in Switzerland. A person who starts with an apprenticeship can end up as a CEO of a multinational company. This is because of the openness of the system, the permeability.

In the United States, you see often apprenticeships as a second-chance issue. People failed in school, then they get a second chance. That’s one reason apprentices here are older. This is not the case in Switzerland. You can choose the college track or apprenticeships, but it’s not a division that stays forever.

Q. Less than 6 percent of apprentices in the U.S. are women. Do you have that same gender imbalance in Switzerland? If not, how can we make apprenticeship more appealing to women?

A. No, but it depends a bit on the profession. Florists have more women. Technical areas have more young men, but it has changed. You have the same number of boys and girls, but they’re unequally distributed.

Here, you have typically blue-collar jobs [for apprentices]. As soon as you have white-collar jobs — people working in laboratories, for example — this will change.

Q. Several Swiss companies with operations in the U.S. have created Swiss-style apprenticeships in recent years. What’s driving this trend?

A. It started with companies processing metal and machines. They started because they didn’t find the skilled workers in the labor market. They have taken the models they knew in Switzerland and have adapted them here.

Some are cooperating now with other companies to strengthen the system. Zurich Insurance, which is the biggest foreign-insurance company in the U.S., is reaching out to other insurance companies, saying, Shouldn’t we join together and try to make practical-oriented people with skills in the insurance business?

Q. What can the U.S. learn from the Swiss apprenticeship model? Which aspects could be easily imported? Which couldn’t?

A. I’m not here as a missionary. The system in Switzerland is not something you can copy and paste. But what I think would be interesting is to look at the core elements — cooperation between government and the private sector — being incorporated in the U.S.

What we have goes far back in history and is linked to an industrial culture other than the one you have in the United States. You cannot parachute in with something that is taken from another culture and societal background.

Kelly Field is a senior reporter covering federal higher-education policy. Contact her at kelly.field@chronicle.com. Or follow her on Twitter @kfieldCHE.