Wage increase after completion of the "EFZ retail specialist" training program

The "Retail Specialist EFZ" certificate of proficiency certifies that you have completed a well-founded and federally recognized basic training course. This qualification enables you to carry out more demanding work independently in the retail trade and to take on more responsibility than without an EFZ, which is usually also reflected in your salary.

You can find out what this actually looks like for a retail specialist EFZ with a calculation in the federal government's statistical salary calculator "Salarium".

We have calculated a case for you as an example: 30-year-old Sven works as a sales assistant in an electronics store in Zug. He didn't learn it, but because he was interested in electronic devices of all kinds from an early age, he has acquired extensive knowledge over time. Initially, he helped out in the warehouse on an hourly basis, but over time he was also allowed to serve customers. His salary then rose to around CHF 3,900 per month when he became a permanent salesman. At some point, he realized that without an apprenticeship qualification, many further training opportunities were blocked or very difficult to access. With the support of his district manager, he is therefore now completing a retail course for adults in order to obtain an apprenticeship qualification as a retail specialist in the electronics sector. At 32, he will have his apprenticeship certificate as an EFZ retail specialist in his hands and will then be given further responsibility as a trained salesperson. His new salary will be around 4,500. He will therefore probably earn CHF 600 or 15% more per month as an EFZ retail specialist than before.

Your personal salary opportunities depend on various criteria such as the sector, the region, your employer, your previous training, your professional experience and your age. You can use the "Salarium" salary calculator to calculate your potential salary increase as an EFZ retail specialist.

Click on the "Calculate salary" button:

  • REGION: Select your region / place of work (in the example Central Switzerland)
  • INDUSTRY: Select your industry (in the example 47 retail trade)
  • PROFESSIONAL GROUP: enter "EFZ retail specialist" and Salarium will suggest the corresponding professional group: 52 sales staff
  • POSITION IN THE COMPANY: without management function
  • HOURS PER WEEK: 42
  • TRAINING: Basic vocational training
  • AGE: Your estimated age after completing the training (32 in the example)
  • YEARS OF SERVICE: Your number of years of service (0 in the example)
  • COMPANY SIZE: In the example 20-49 employees
  • 12/13 MONTHLY WAGE: 12 monthly wages
  • SPECIAL PAYMENTS: No
  • MONTHLY / HOURLY WAGE: Monthly wage

Source:Federal Statistical Office

Note: This sample calculation refers to the data of Salarium 2023, this service is temporarily interrupted. Information can be foundhere. A list of other payroll calculator tools is availablehere.

Click on the banner below to access the salary calculator:

Salarium - Statistischer Lohnrechner

Find a school that offers courses here:

Provider "Retail trade specialist EFZ / Retail trade specialist EFZ"