If it becomes apparent during your apprenticeship that you are performing very well at school and you are very interested in building on this, you have the option of attending a vocational baccalaureate school during your basic training. This variant of the apprenticeship diploma with Federal Vocational Baccalaureate enables you to subsequently attend a University of Applied Sciences and acquire higher education or continuing education, further training. The Passerelle, an additional examination, also gives you the opportunity to study at an FIT or university with the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate.

It is also possible to obtain a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate after completing your apprenticeship. You can do this either full-time or part-time. In this case, full-time training takes one year, while part-time training takes one and a half to two years. However, in order to obtain a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate, you must have a Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training and choose one of the six directions. Switzerland is available for this type of initial and continuing education, further training:

• Technical direction
• Commercial direction
• Health and social direction
• Commercial direction
• Scientific direction
• Design direction

The Laborant continuing education, Federal Vocational Baccalaureate opens up new perspectives for young people. It combines vocational education and training (VET) with an extended general education. Vocational baccalaureate students thus have a double qualification: they have a profession and can present themselves on the job market. With the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate, they can also study at a University of Applied Sciences without having to take an examination. This is possible after completing vocational education and training (VET) as a full-time course or part-time as a "part-time course" or independently of school on the occasion of the federal vocational baccalaureate examinations after completing vocational education and training (VET).

There are various ways to obtain the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate (BM). For people who know at an early stage that they are aiming for the BM, an apprenticeship with integrated BM1 may be an option. In this case, you will attend vocational school two days a week instead of the usual one day only, and work at your training company for the remaining three days of the week. If you do not already know before you start your apprenticeship that you would like to do a vocational baccalaureate, you can also decide to do one during your vocational training and attend a corresponding vocational baccalaureate school. Another option is the BM2, the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate on the second educational pathway. For this option, you need a Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training and can attend classes full-time or part-time.

Each vocational baccalaureate specialization leads to specific fields of study. Depending on the profession, the vocational baccalaureate after apprenticeship (BMS after apprenticeship) leads to the following UAS subject areas:

• Technology, architecture and life sciences:
  • Engineering and information technology
  • Architecture, construction and planning
  • Chemistry and Life Sciences
• Nature, landscape and food
  • Agriculture
  • Forestry
• Economy and services
  • Economy
  • Services
• Design and art
  • Design
• Health and social affairs
  • Health

 

Students who have passed the supplementary pass examination in addition to the federal vocational baccalaureate certificate can enrol at a Swiss university UH or university of teacher education PH.

After leaving school, you can choose from a range of options to continue your education or training. One option is an apprenticeship, which you can complete with a Federal Certificate of Vocational Education and Training (VET) or Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training (VET Diploma). If you perform very well at school during your apprenticeship, you also have the opportunity to obtain a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate. If you would like to continue your education before choosing a career, you can opt for a secondary school, which provides a broad general education and, in the case of grammar schools, gives you access to a university, FIT or College of Applied Sciences or, in the case of Specialized Schools, access to higher technical colleges, continuing education, further training and colleges of applied sciences. You complete the Gymnasium with a Baccalaureate and can usually shorten any subsequent vocational apprenticeship by one year. The fourth option is an apprenticeship at a commercial college or business school, for example. In this case, you will acquire a commercial diploma upon graduation, which is also a commercial apprenticeship qualification and is equivalent to vocational education and training (VET). After a year of work experience, you can also obtain your Federal Vocational Baccalaureate. In some cantons, it is also possible to attend an IT middle school, which leads to a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate in Computer Science with a focus on application development and a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate.