Ist es möglich, auch noch als Erwachsener einen Lehrabschluss zu machen?

Not only young people who have completed their compulsory schooling can opt for vocational training, but of course also adults who do not yet have an apprenticeship qualification or do not have the desired qualification. There are four different ways to obtain a Federal Certificate of Vocational Education and Training (VET) or Federal VET Diploma (VET). Firstly, you have the option of taking the final examination directly after at least five years of professional experience, including in your chosen profession. In this case, you prepare for the exam independently or in a corresponding course and receive the desired certificate if you pass. In some professions, it is also possible to obtain a qualification without taking the final examination by means of a validation procedure in which your previous educational achievements are taken into account. For this catch-up training, you prepare a validation dossier that sets out all the skills required. In the areas in which you do not yet have the qualifications required for the profession, you attend the relevant modules at a vocational college and thus close the gaps in your knowledge. The third option is a shortened vocational education and training (VET) program, in which the apprenticeship can be shortened by one or two years and you take a final apprenticeship examination (qualification procedure). Professional experience is a prerequisite for all three of the above-mentioned paths to vocational education and training in Switzerland. This is not the case with the fourth option for achieving an apprenticeship qualification, where you undergo regular vocational training, in which you are the apprentice who works in the training company, attends vocational school and takes part in inter-company courses, just like other young apprentices.