TheSwissVocationalEducation&TrainingInitiative

BySmritiPradhan(AdWize) info@skillsonics.com Abstract Vocational education and training (VET) constitutes a cornerstone of the Swiss education system. Structured as a private sector driven publicprivate partnership model, VET is widely creditedasbeingthesourceofSwitzerlandscompetitivenessandstrongeconomy.Tosharethis successful model with other countries, the Swiss Vocational Education and Training Initiative (SVETI) was developed, and a pilot project in India was launched in 2008 and successfully completed in 2011. The key to continued success now lies with the private sector in India embracing its own role within the dualtrack system. Similarly, the further expansion of the SVETItoothercountriesdependslargelyontheresponseofprivatesectorsthere.Inviewofthe growing need for skilled labor and increasing awareness among industry leaders around the world,thereisreasonforoptimism. Background:TheSwissVETSysteminaNutshell ApprenticeshiptraininginSwitzerlandhasalongstandingtradition.Thefirstlawsonvocational education and training (VET) were enacted at the end of the 19th century. Today, VET is the predominant form of upper secondary education in Switzerland. About 65% of all young people enroll in a VET program. Most VET courses are structured along the socalled company based dualtrack system because there are two places of learning a vocational school for general education and a company where the practical training takes place. In Switzerland, specific VET programs exist in around 230 occupations in all fields of industry, including commerce, hospitality and agriculture. VET programs can either be two years or three to four years in duration. Irrespective of program length, students are employed by a host company in their vocational area throughout the program. Those who wish to get a university degree after completingtheirapprenticeshipmaydosoafterfulfillingcertainscholasticrequirements. In Switzerland, VET is seen as a joint mission of the public and private sectors. The tasks are sharedamongtheSwissConfederation,whichfunctionsastheoverallregulatorybodyincharge of quality assurance, the professional sector organizations that determine the training content, the cantons (the 26 Swiss states) that supervise implementation, and the host companies that hireapprenticeswithintheframeworkofspecialtrainingcontracts. ThestrengthofSwitzerlandsVETsystemcanbeattributedtothefollowingcharacteristics: First, theoretical instruction and practical training are directly linked to the business requirements of companies in different vocational areas. This linkage reduces the discrepancy

betweenskillsthatcompaniesrequireandavailablelabortrainedinthoseskills.Coursetheoryis not conducted in the rarified environment of an academic institution removed from the requirements of the marketplace but defined by these requirements. Finally, instructors themselves are systematically trained and retrained in contemporary technical and pedagogical approaches. Second,VEThasadifferentimageinSwitzerlandthaninmanyothercountriesoftheworld.Itis nottherealmoflowachieversorindividualswhocouldnotmakeittouniversity.Itisattributed, respectedandregardedasadesirableentrypointtoasuccessfulcareerforthemajorityofSwiss youngsters. Indeed, many CEOs in Switzerland did not graduate from university but from VET programsandhaveworkedtheirwayuptheorganizationalhierarchy. Third, as a corollary of the above point, the VET path opens career opportunities for its participants. This is not only because they have been instructed in the relevant hard and soft skills, but because they have been exposed to the working environment in companies and organizations during their training program. With handson experience they are soughtafter skilled resources after graduating who can hit the ground running when they enter their first employmentposition. Fourth, there is a degree of flexibility in the Swiss VET system so that the university path is not shut off to graduates of the VET system. Participants can progress to higher professional education including university studies. It is largely due to the VET system that Switzerland has one of the lowest employment rates in the world, and that its companies are successful both at homeandintheglobalmarketplace. SharingtheSwissVETSystemwithOtherCountries:ThePilotProjectinIndia Switzerland has contributed to skills development projects and supported the startup of trainingcentersinother countriesfor manyyears. Today,inviewofthegrowingglobaldemand for skilled labor, key VET actors in Switzerland felt that a new approach had to be developed. The Swiss Vocational Education and Training Initiative grew out of these considerations. Consequently, a pilot project in India was launched to determine whether the concept could be implementedinacountrywhichwasnotfamiliarwiththecompanybaseddualtracksystem. In 2008 the SwissIndian Chamber of Commerce (SICC) in partnership with the Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET), the Swiss Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Industries Association (SWISSMEM) and the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) began the pilot project in India. This was inaugurated on the occasion of the 60 year anniversary of the IndoSwiss Friendship and Establishment Treaty signedinAugust1948.

Initially implemented on a small scale in Pune and Bangalore, it was designed to achieve proof ofconcept,inotherwords,toascertainthatthekeyelementsoftheSwissdualtrackVETcould beadaptedsuccessfullytotheIndianenvironmentandmeetthe requirementsoflocalindustry. After a period of 18 months to define all partners, conceptualize and develop course content, train the necessary ITI (Industrial Training Institute) teachers, company instructors and examiners by Swiss experts in pedagogic methods, a first batch of apprentices started a two year training as MultiSkilled Production Technicians. In November 2011, they all successfully passedthefinalexamandreceivedaSWISSMEMdiploma. With a comparable structure to the one in Switzerland, the pilot project required close cooperation between public and private actors, namely the participating ITIs and companies. TheITIssecondedteacherstoinstructtheapprenticesinthetheoryforonetotwodaysaweek. The companies, whose technical needs and human resource requirements determined the skills that were taught, hired apprentices and instructors, and established apprentice workshops on theirpremises.Afurtherimportantelementofthepilotprojectssuccesswastheestablishment of a dedicated team in India. This team was instrumental in advising on the approach to take and managing program delivery. Today, it constitutes the nucleus of the organization in charge ofexpandingtheinitiativeacrossIndiaandSriLanka,aswellastootherprofessions.Itmanages all aspects of the expansion in close cooperation with SWISSMEM and SFIVET. This includes the development and upgrading of further course content, ensuring proper training of the trainers andexaminers,andmanagingtherigorousexaminationprocess. Approximately one hundred and twenty apprentices are currently in training with prospects for exponentially more in the pipeline. Indeed, a central element of the pilot project has been to transfer the systemic knowhow and create structures that allow scaling upon a selfsustainable basis.

StudentsintheapprenticeshopatBuhlerIndiaPvt.Ltd.,Bangalore

Lessons,ChallengesandtheWayForward TheSwissVocationalEducationandTrainingInitiativeisdeliveringgoodresultsonthegroundas reflected in the positive responses from the Indian private and public sector partners. So far there have been several lessons gleaned from the project. These include the importance of grooming company instructors to become mentors to their apprentices. Regarding the theoretical part of the program, special emphasis must be placed on learning the technical English required for a multiskilled production technician. Generally, the quality of teaching and trainingneedstobemonitoredonanongoingbasis. The transfer of systemic knowhow to a dedicated local team is necessary in order to enable a project scaleup. The local team has to have a strong base in Switzerland to ensure full coordination with all Swiss VET partners (in particular sector organizations and SFIVET). While adherence to quality processes and standards must be continuously monitored from Switzerland, enabling the local team to build up responsibility and ownership is paramount to successfulprojectimplementationinthetargetcountry. In order to maintain high output quality, a precise and systematic documenting of all dualtrack VET system processes is a prerequisite to scaling up in a country where VET is not widely practiced. Moreover, in a country the size of India, a broad expansion of the VET system requires the effective deployment of ICTbased technologies for teaching and training. Fortunately, India is well positioned to ensure both systematic documentation and technology drivenexpansionthankstoitshighlydevelopedICTcapabilities. Though the Swiss Vocational Education and Training Initiative in India is already reaping fruit, muchworkremains.ThekeytocontinuedsuccesslieswiththeprivatesectorinIndiaembracing its own role within the dualtrack system as its counterparts in Switzerland, Germany and Austria are doing. Similarly, the further expansion of the Swiss Vocational Education and Training Initiative to other countries will depend largely on the response of private sectors there. In view of the growing need for skilled labor and increasing awareness among industry leadersaroundtheworld,thereisreasonforoptimism.

AboutSkillsonics SkillSonics aims to promote vocational training in India by adapting key elements from theSwissVocationalEducationandTraining(VET)model,creditedtobethebackboneof Switzerlands thriving economy and competitive strength. SkillSonics has signed a ten year exclusive cooperation agreement with The Sector Organization of the Swiss Mechanical and Electrical Manufacturing Industries (Swissmem) and Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) to bring vocational courses to India.

Thesecoursesareprovidedtoentrylevelandexistingtechniciansincompaniesthathelp in improving work productivity and thus impacting competitiveness of companies. The technician is trained in theoretical and practical aspects followed by multidimensional and rigorous assessment culminating in an internationally recognized diploma endorsed by Swissmem. Skillsonics aims to empower one million youth in India to be trained and certifiedtointernationalqualitystandards.