Professional education
Professional education institutions provide specialist qualifications at the tertiary level to professionals who have already obtained an upper-secondary VET diploma or equivalent. These qualifications are required to carry out demanding roles, some of which are managerial. Professional education institutions thus keep the economy supplied with qualified specialists. Every year, more than 27,500 people earn a professional education qualification.
For professionals with a federal VET diploma (Vocational Education and Training) or equivalent at upper-secondary level, the professional education system enables them to specialise and deepen their expertise. Qualifications in business management can also be obtained by completing professional education programmes.
Further training and specialisation for professionals
Professional education builds on professional experience, combining teaching with experience in the workplace, applying the dual system of vocational education and training also at the tertiary level. The training is skills and labour-market oriented, and employs the techniques of applied learning, the rapid implementation of new skills and a high rate of innovation. This ensures that the highly specialised Swiss economy is kept supplied with qualified specialists.
A Swiss speciality
Switzerland's system of professional education is one of a kind. Its education and training programmes and qualifications are often unfamiliar in countries which do not have a dual VET system. In many countries, equivalent programmes are provided by higher education institutions. Measures are currently under way to strengthen the professional education system and to improve its standing internationally.