A HF Business Processes course (now HF Process Technology) is an initial further education course that leads to a federal diploma following upper secondary level education and possible professional experience. A NDS-HF in the field of business processes, on the other hand, is a postgraduate course at a university of applied sciences, which already requires higher education, i.e. a federal diploma from a university of applied sciences, a federal certificate, a university of applied sciences or university degree and usually several years of professional experience. An NDS-HF is therefore a further education course that can only be obtained after an HF or similar qualification.

There are various ways to gain admission to an HF program in process engineering:

• Relevant federal certificate of proficiency (EFZ)
• Other EFZ or Matura and relevant professional experience
• Equivalent qualification as listed above and corresponding professional experience

In addition:

• During the part-time process technician HF training: at least 50% employment in the relevant field.
• Depending on the school: entrance examination or aptitude test and/or attendance of a preliminary course, for example in mathematics.

Studying to become a process technician (formerly HF company process technician) teaches you the following:

• Mathematics / Technical Statistics
• Processes and projects
• Corporate management / personnel management
• Quality and environmental management
• Work organization
• Product development / product maintenance
• Change management
• Organization
• Management systems
• Process simulation
• IT for business processes
• Product management

With a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS), you usually have a choice of several Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) courses to choose from. Depending on the MAS, there are between two and four CAS courses leading to an MAS degree. However, universities often specify one or more CAS courses as compulsory modules that you must attend in order to obtain the MAS degree. You can usually choose the remaining CAS from a small selection as elective modules and specialize in the area of business processes.

People with a qualification as HF Technician in Business Processes (now HF Process Technician) have the following opportunities for further development:

• Courses and offers from associations, higher technical colleges and universities of applied sciences
• University of Applied Sciences
  • Bachelor of Science (FH) in Business Administration
  • Bachelor of Science (FH) in Systems Engineering
  • Bachelor of Science (FH) in Computer Science
• Postgraduate level at universities of applied sciences and universities of applied sciences in areas such as
  • Business administration
  • Corporate management
  • Project management
  • Logistics
  • Supply Chain & Operations Management
  • International Logistics Management

Process technicians HF (formerly company process technicians HF) perform the following tasks:

• demanding specialist, project management and leadership tasks in commercial, industrial and service companies in the area of corporate processes
• Develop and optimize processes in operating technology or logistics - depending on the chosen specialization
• systematically collect and analyze all relevant data in their area on aspects such as costs, deadlines and quality
• make optimum use of existing resources
• Control work processes, information and material flows for economically competitive operations
• find out about trends in the industry and the current market situation
• Finding and implementing solutions to improve operational processes
• Quality assurance for company processes

Further education courses with a federal title in the field of business processes / process technology are all professional examinations (BP) that lead to a federal certificate, such as process specialists, all higher professional examinations (HFP), postgraduate courses (NDS-HF) at universities of applied sciences that are recognized by SERI as well as Bachelor's and Master's degree courses at federally accredited universities. An MAS, a Master of Advanced Studies and an EMBA (Executive Master of Business Administration) are also recognized titles.

As a technician HF company processes logistics or technician HF company processes operating technology (new process technician HF) you should have the following skills:

• Technical understanding
• Communication skills
• Ability to lead employees and work in a team
• High sense of responsibility
• Organizational talent

Even without experience in process management or quality management, there are a number of further training options open to you that will provide you with the knowledge you need to work in the corporate process area. These can be, for example, short certificate courses to become a quality and process manager, or a comprehensive course of study at a higher technical college "HF Business Processes", depending on how intensively you want to deal with the subject and what career goals you are pursuing.