Alternative routes to the commercial apprenticeship qualification "Kauffrau / Kaufmann (EFZ)"

In addition to the usual three- or four-year apprenticeship, there are three other ways to obtain a commercial apprenticeship with a federal certificate of proficiency (EFZ).

• Attendance at a (private or public) business school (possible for young people and adults)
• Catch-up training for adults in accordance with Art. 32 BBV (for adults with 3 years of professional experience in the office)
• Validation of educational achievements (for adults with 3 years of work experience in the office)

1. attendance of a private or public business school

There are schools that offer classes for young people and schools that are aimed entirely at adults.

The commercial apprenticeship (EFZ) lasts three years and consists of three parts:

1. Three semesters of school. After two semesters, it is often possible to take the VSH office diploma exam as an intermediate qualification and the VSH or Edupool commercial diploma exam after the third semester
2. This is followed by a year of work experience in a commercial position
3. This is followed by another semester of school, which is primarily used to prepare for the final apprenticeship examination (QV) as a commercial clerk.

At the end, the graduates take the federal final apprenticeship examination (QV) and those who pass it receive the federal certificate of competence as a commercial clerk EFZ

Graphically, the training at a business school looks like this:

2. catch-up training for adults in accordance with Art. 32 BBV

Adults who have been working in an office for at least 5 years can take the shortened path of so-called catch-up training for adults to obtain a commercial qualification.

• They no longer have to do an internship because they can prove their professional experience with their professional activity
• For theoretical lessons, they can either attend the vocational school together with the young people (during the day during the week) or attend special preparatory courses for adults (in the evenings or on Saturdays). If you are very disciplined and an easy learner, you can also study the subject matter on your own.
• They then also take part in the regular federal final apprenticeship examination (QV) and those who pass it receive the federal certificate of proficiency as a commercial clerk EFZ

3. validation of educational achievements

Adults who have been working in the office for around 5 years also have the opportunity to prove via a validation procedure that they have all the skills that are otherwise tested with the final apprenticeship examination (QV).

This allows you to obtain the Federal Certificate of Competence in Business Administration without having to take the final apprenticeship examination (QV).

There are 5 steps to the validation of educational achievements:

1. Information and advice. The advice center in your canton of residence will inform you about your options
2. Accounting: You document your professional competencies in accordance with the qualification profile for the commercial qualification (EFZ)
3. Assessment: Experts in the profession assess your documentation
4. Validation: You will receive confirmation of which learning achievements will be credited to you and where you may still need to do some additional learning.
5. Certification: If you have the confirmations for all the necessary learning achievements, you will be issued the EFZ as a commercial clerk.

Here you will find the addresses of the advice centers in all cantons:http://adressen.sdbb.ch/

Directly to providers of "Management Assistant (EFZ)" training courses