Self-test: Is the "Social Team Leader (FPE)" training course right for me?

What does the day-to-day work of a team leader in social and socio-medical organizations (formerly team leader in social and socio-medical institutions) with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education look like?

Team leaders in social and socio-medical organizations work in retirement and nursing homes, socio-educational institutions, day-care centres, facilities for people with disabilities or organizations that provide help and care at home (e.g. Spitex). They work in lower or middle management, manage teams and ensure that their clients (children and young people, the elderly or those with disabilities) are supported and encouraged according to their needs.

Team leaders in social and socio-medical organizations define the work of their team members and assign it to the respective employees. They assess their performance and provide individual feedback. This also includes conducting annual appraisals, in which they define goals and development and training measures together with the individual employees. They are in close contact with their employees and take appropriate measures at an early stage in the event of conflicts. Team leaders in social and socio-medical organizations are also involved in employee recruitment, introduce new employees and support and motivate them.

Social team leaders are also responsible for organizing and improving processes. To this end, they coordinate the cooperation of different professionals, for example, and use their interface function to ensure communication and the flow of information with their team, the authorities, external specialists (doctors) and the organizational management. They also prepare and chair team meetings. Finally, they analyze operational processes and take measures to improve them.

Target group and skills: Who is the Federal Professional Examination for Team Leader in Social and Socio-Medical Organizations (formerly Team Leader in Social and Socio-Medical Institutions) suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The "Team Leader in Social and Socio-Medical Organizations" training course and the Federal Professional Examination for "Team Leader in Social and Socio-Medical Organizations" are designed for the following target groups:

• People who already lead a team in the health or social sector, who would like to prove their skills with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education and thus increase their salary and career opportunities.
• Ambitious professionals with professional experience in social or health care who would like to take on a team leader role in a social or socio-medical institution in the future and prepare for the Federal Professional Examination.

Social Team Leaders should have the following personal qualities and skills:

• Leadership and social skills
• Ability to work in a team
• Empathy
• Flexibility (e.g. willingness to work irregular hours)
• Sense of responsibility
• Assertiveness
• Enjoy contact and working with people
• Strong communication skills and confident demeanor
• Organizational talent
• Good mental and physical health (resilience)
• Ability to deal with conflict
• Networked and logical thinking

Requirements for admission to the Federal Professional Examination for Team Leader in Social and Socio-Medical Organizations (formerly Team Leader in Social and Socio-Medical Institutions):

Persons who fulfill the following conditions by the time of the Federal Professional Examination or the registration deadline are admitted to the final examination:

• Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training (VET Diploma), tertiary degree or equivalent qualification in the social and healthcare sector and at least two years of professional experience in the form of employment of at least 60% in the social and healthcare sector since obtaining the degree.

Or

• Other apprenticeship qualification (Federal VET Diploma) or tertiary qualification (outside the health and social care sector) or equivalent qualification and at least four years of work experience in the form of employment of at least 60% in the social and health care sector since obtaining the qualification.

In addition

• 1 year of management experience in the health and social sector

And

• Proof of competence of modules 1, 2, 3 and the double module 4/5* or certificates of equivalence

At least three months before the start of the examination, you will receive written notification as to whether you have been admitted to the Federal Professional Examination. If you receive a rejection letter, you will be informed of the reasons for this as well as instructions on how to appeal.

Note: At some schools, you can also start or complete the preparatory course for the FPE as a team leader in social and socio-medical organizations even if you do not (yet) meet the criteria for admission to the federal examination. You are then responsible for ensuring that you meet the necessary requirements by the time of the examination or registration for the examination.

By the way: At some schools, it is possible to complete the Social Team Leader course even if you do not actually intend to take the federal final examination. However, you will not end up empty-handed. As a rule, you will receive a course confirmation or a certificate from the school after completing the course. It is best to contact the school of your choice directly if you have any questions about specific courses.

* Completion of the following modules is required:

• Module 1: Leading yourself
• Module 2: Leading others
• Module 3: Planning and ensuring team organization
• Double module 4/5: Setting goals and ensuring quality

Subject matter and content of continuing education, further training

When compiling the learning content for the preparatory courses for the Federal Professional Examination, the schools are guided by the specifications of the responsible body for the Federal Professional Examination. The responsible body of the FPE for team leaders in social and socio-medical organizations (formerly team leaders in social and socio-medical institutions) periodically reviews this Federal Professional Examination or examination regulations and guidelines and thus ensures that the knowledge and skills taught are always up to date and meet the requirements of the job market.

The Social Team Leader training provides knowledge and skills on the following topics:

Module 1: Understanding leadership and leadership behavior as a team leader

• Presentation and justification of your own understanding of leadership in the team
• Shaping the leadership role
• Managing conflict situations in the team, supporting conflict resolution
• Organization of decision-making processes in the team

Module 2: Goal-oriented leadership in a team

• Using existing management tools to lead a team or group in a goal-oriented manner
• Planning your own work and the work of the team
• Delegating and controlling work
• Recognizing the learning needs of team members and suggesting personnel development measures
• Participation in personnel recruitment

Module 3: Organization and quality of teamwork

• Planning team tasks in accordance with the organizational structure and specified quality standards
• Implementation of health-promoting measures in the team

Module 4: Fundamentals of team development and cooperation

• Management and development of a team
• Shaping multidisciplinary collaboration
• Ensure and organize communication (within the company, with relatives or legal representatives)
• Chairing and moderating meetings

Module 5: Planning, implementation and evaluation of management tasks

• Ecological and sustainable planning of management tasks as well as their implementation, evaluation and presentation
• Plan, implement and evaluate smaller projects in a team

Costs and financing of continuing education, further training

The costs for a Team Leader Social Services training course are set by the schools themselves and can therefore vary from provider to provider. This does not include the examination fee. This is charged by the responsible body for the federal examination and must be paid by the candidates when registering for the examination.

In general, the following costs must be expected for continuing education, further training as a team leader in social and socio-medical organizations (formerly team leader in social and socio-medical institutions):

• Course feesBetween CHF 8,300 and CHF 9,500, of which you will receive up to 50% back from the federal government after the examination (regardless of the result)*.
• Federal Professional Examination feeCHF 1,000 (as at August 2025)
• With some providers you have to payadditional costsfor enrolment, teaching materials and training documents, internal examinations or simulation tests, for example. Contact the provider of your choice directly. Ask what extra costs you can expect.

*Since 1.1.2018, preparatory courses for Federal Professional Examination (FPE) and Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) have been financially supported by the federal government. Graduates of these courses will therefore be reimbursed up to 50% (max. CHF 9,500 for FPE, max. CHF 10,500 for AFPE) of the course costs paid upon application after taking the federal examinations. In exceptional cases of hardship, the federal contributions are also paid out in advance.

Duration of study, number of learning hours, teaching times, teaching formats and learning effort

• DurationThe extra-occupational training course for social team leaders is offered as a modular system with a final examination and lasts approx. 1 year. The duration of the course may vary slightly depending on the educational institute and the course offered.
• Number of learning hoursThe total time required for the five modules is expected to be at least 500 hours. Of these, at least 150 hours are so-called "contact hours"; the rest of the learning hours are made up of so-called "guided learning" and "self-study".
• Lesson timesThe timetable is put together independently by the school. Here, too, there may therefore be differences depending on the school. Lessons often take place on one or two evenings a week and/or on Saturdays so that they can be combined with work.
• Teaching formatsYou can now choose from a wide range of teaching formats: Face-to-face teaching, online teaching, hybrid teaching or blended learning. You are sure to find a Social Team Leader training course with teaching formats that meet your expectations and needs.
• Learning effortThanks to the extra-occupational concept of continuing education, further training, you can apply and deepen the learning material immediately in practice. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for preparation and follow-up of the lessons and self-study - how much depends on your previous knowledge, working style and learning speed. We recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week as a precaution.

Note: Some schools offer so-called "taster lessons". This gives you the opportunity to gain an insight into the lessons and the learning atmosphere - both important aspects on the way to a successful degree. Contact the school of your choice directly for a taster lesson.

Degree, diploma and title

If you have successfully completed the Social Team Leader training and have all five module certificates, as well as meeting the other admission requirements for the required prior education and professional experience, then you are admitted to the Federal Professional Examination.

In order for the Federal Professional Examination to be held, at least 30 candidates must meet the admission requirements after the announcement. Otherwise, the final examination takes place every two years. Candidates can decide for themselves in which language (German, French or Italian) they would like to be examined.

At least four weeks before the start of the final examination for the Social Team Leader training course, candidates will receive an invitation to attend. This invitation contains information on the examination program (time and place of the examination) and the list of experts.

The Federal Professional Examination for Team Leaders in Social and Sociomedical Organizations (formerly Team Leaders in Social and Sociomedical Institutions) is divided into three parts, which proceed as follows:

1) Presentation of a management situation followed by an expert discussion (oral, 45 min.)

In this part of the examination, candidates must present a specific management situation from their practice to the experts. This is followed by an expert discussion in which the candidates demonstrate that they can not only reflect on their own behavior, but also link it to the relevant theoretical principles and derive insights for their management activities.

2) Case analysis (written, 120 min.)

In this part of the examination, candidates work on given external work situations of a team leader in the social or healthcare sector. They demonstrate that they are able to recognize leadership problems, classify them conceptually, develop solutions and justify them.

3) Simulated management situation with technical discussion (oral, 70 min.)

Candidates prepare for a given challenging management discussion with employees. This is followed by a simulated discussion with a team member concerned. The candidates then explain their approach to the experts.

Diploma and title

Successful graduates of the Federal Professional Examination receive a Federal Diploma of Higher Education and are entitled to use the federally recognized and protected title "Team Leader in Social and Sociomedical Organizations with Federal Diploma of Higher Education".

In French: "Responsable d'équipe dans des organizations sociales et médico-sociales avec brevet fédéral"

In Italian: "Capo team in organizzazioni sociali e medico-sociali con attestato professionale federale"

In English: "Team Leader in Social and Sociomedical Organizations, Federal Diploma of Higher Education" Attention: The English title is merely a suggested translation; this is not a protected title.