Federal VET Diploma commercial apprenticeships take place both in the company and at vocational school. This "dual education system" offers high-quality training and direct access to the job market. It is a success factor for the Swiss economy.

With a commercial apprenticeship (EFZ) you can achieve the following according to graduates:

• pave the way into the world of work through basic business education
• Profile your degree according to your strengths and interests: with a focus on finance, technology, communication in the local language or communication in foreign languages - and document it in your personal online portfolio
• Acquire industry-specific know-how from one of the 19 different training sectors as a commercial clerk EFZ
• get a taste of different fields of activity through practical training in different organizational units of the companies and get to know your own skills better through the commercial apprenticeship (EFZ)
• be an organizational and service-oriented all-round talent in the office and carry out a wide range of activities
• take on or be responsible for demanding administrative and management tasks
• Obtain a Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ) as a businessman or businesswoman
• As generalists, merchants have a wide range of development opportunities after their commercial apprenticeship
• Access to higher vocational training for the federal certificate or qualification for higher technical college

There are a wide range of opportunities for further training for business management assistants after the EFZ. In addition to various courses offered by vocational schools, further education institutes and professional and industry associations, there are numerous opportunities for further training at different levels.

Possible options for further training after a CT apprenticeship:

• Professional examination (BP) - federal certificate, for example in the areas of finance and accounting, marketing, HR or fiduciary services
• Higher technical college for banking, business administration or insurance, etc.
• University of Applied Sciences - Bachelor of Science (FH) in Business Administration or Industrial Engineering etc.

Even with a basic commercial education, further training after a commercial apprenticeship is important - after all, you never stop learning!

• Federal VET Diploma in Chemistry
• Federal VET Diploma travel agency clerk
• Federal VET Diploma in Hotel-Gastro-Tourism HGT
• Federal VET Diploma in International Freight Forwarding Logistics
• Federal VET Diploma bank clerk
• Federal VET Diploma in the automotive trade
• Federal VET Diploma commercial clerk in private insurance
• Federal VET Diploma Hospital / Clinic / Care Home Management Assistant

The classic route to commercial training as an EFZ commercial clerk is through employment as an apprentice in a training company and attending vocational school on individual weekdays.

However, there is also an alternative in which the commercial training can be completed at a commercial college without a training company (the so-called SOG - school-organized basic training). At the beginning, basic commercial training is taught purely at school. This can give you an important head start for the work placement - e.g. for learners who have not found an apprenticeship in the commercial sector in time. This is followed by two semesters of practical training in companies. In some cases, these internships are arranged by the schools or the learners receive good support in their search. Some schools supplement the work placement with school support. At most schools, the last semester is another school semester that prepares students for the final apprenticeship examination, the so-called qualification procedure.

The advantages of a commercial apprenticeship EFZ in school form with internship compared to a commercial apprenticeship are for example:

• Recognized, high-quality training without a company apprenticeship
• Ideal combination of school and office practice
• First, concentrated learning of the most important knowledge and skills of commercial training
• Help with the search for internships or even placement in internships
• International certificates integrated into the training (foreign languages, IT)
• Two VSH diplomas recognized throughout Switzerland are acquired in the course of the training (office management diploma and commercial diploma)

During your commercial apprenticeship at a vocational college, you will be taught the theoretical knowledge and skills you need for your practical work as a commercial clerk with a Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ). These skills are set out in the SERI ordinance on basic vocational training.

The curriculum for commercial clerks EFZ comprises specialist skills, methodological skills and social and personal skills and is divided into the following five areas of competence:

• Acting in agile forms of work and organization
• Interacting in a networked working environment
• Coordinating business work processes
• Shaping customer and supplier relationships
• Use of technologies from the digital world of work

It is not compulsory to attend optional courses during the apprenticeship to become a commercial clerk EFZ. Anyone who performs well at school and in the company can choose to take optional courses, but usually only from the 2nd year of the apprenticeship. Optional courses offer the opportunity to gain further qualifications and in this way to be one step ahead of other commercial apprenticeship graduates. This will give you a big advantage when looking for a job later on. During the EFZ apprenticeship, you can choose language courses with language diplomas, for example in English with a Cambridge certificate (First Certificate in English from the University of Cambridge - FCE, Certificate in Advanced English - CAE,...) or in French with the DELF B1 (Diplôme d'études en langue française). Other commercial apprenticeship free courses are also possible, for example in IT with preparation for the SIZ (Swiss IT Certificate). The optional courses can be attended during the EFZ apprenticeship during working hours and count as such. However, you may not take up more than half a day's working time per week for this.