Continuing vocational training expands and deepens existing vocational training and takes the form of courses, seminars, etc. Example: A graduate of a commercial apprenticeship would like to deepen their knowledge in the field of business administration and registers for the course "Betriebswirtschafter / Betriebswirtschafterin HF". The business economist HF is a 3-year continuing education course that can be attended alongside work at a higher technical college and concludes with a federal diploma.
Switzerland offers several thousand courses and training programs for continuing professional development. The training courses differ both in terms of subject matter and type. In terms of subject matter, there are courses for every profession or function. There are three different types of continuing education: Certificate courses, higher vocational education and training and the continuing education sector of universities:
Here you can see the three areas of continuing vocational training for adults in blue:
In October 2023, the two online portals Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch and Karriere.ch conducted an online survey on the benefits of continuing professional development for adults for the second time since 2021. The core question of the study was: "What are the personal benefits of continuing education?"
In principle, continuing vocational training serves to expand and deepen existing vocational training. It is offered in the form of courses and training programs. Courses are shorter educational formats lasting between one and several days. Courses last several months or years. Continuing vocational education and training in Switzerland can be divided into the following three types:
398 adults who had completed further training took part in the online survey. 71% of them had completed their further training between 2020 and 2023. They were asked why they had decided to undertake further training, how satisfied they were with the training, what benefits they had gained from it and how the training had impacted their career.
The survey led to the following results:
In an open question, respondents were asked for the most important reason why they had decided to undertake further training. Here you will find the most important main reasons:
| Main reason for further training | Share |
| Improving opportunities on the labor market | 39 % |
| Expand skills, deepen knowledge | 22 % |
| Personal interest, personal development | 18 % |
| Reorientation, retraining, lateral entry into a new field | 11 % |
| Wage increase | 2 % |
| Desired job change, higher or other position | 7 % |
| Other reasons | 1 % |
Multiple answers were not taken into account.
Satisfaction with the last training course
92% of those surveyed stated that they were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their last training course
Professional and emotional benefits of further training
| 93 % | were able to expand their professional skills |
| 84 % | can do more demanding work with better quality |
| 80 % | improved their self-confidence |
| 75 % | now have better chances on the labor market |
| 75 % | can better represent their opinions and ideas |
| 72 % | have a better appearance |
| 70 % | have received more interesting work |
| 61 % | can deal better with stressful situations |
| 59 % | receive more recognition in their profession |
| 54 % | receive more recognition in their social environment |
Impact on the career
22 % of those surveyed have been promoted since the start of training
33 % of respondents have changed employer after further training
38 % of those surveyed have been able to increase their income since their last professional development program
Selected form of teaching
62 % have opted for face-to-face teaching
18 % have attended an online class
14 % chose blended learning (combination of classroom & online) for further training
5 % preferred hybrid lessons (on-site or online lessons possible at the same time)
1 % had opted for a different form of teaching
91% were satisfied or very satisfied with their choice of teaching method. Face-to-face teaching and hybrid teaching led to the greatest satisfaction.
Further training decision
57 % of respondents quickly decided on and registered for further training
35% did their research first and signed up after a certain amount of time
8 %, on the other hand, took a long time to decide and register
Conclusion
At 93%, satisfaction with the further training courses offered by all three types of offer is very high. The same applies to the improvement of their own professional skills. The majority of those who complete further vocational training are given more demanding work and are able to do it better. In addition to professional skills, personal skills were also expanded and significantly improved in the areas of self-confidence, appearance, communication, stress resistance and recognition at work or in the social environment.
Around a third of respondents were able to improve their position and/or income as a result of their further training. With this low value in comparison to satisfaction, it should be taken into account that 53% of the study participants have only completed their further training in the last two years, i.e. the further training may not yet have had its full effect in everyday working life. In addition, wage levels have not risen significantly across all sectors in recent years. The nominal wage increase has amounted to 0.8 % per year over the last ten years (source: "UBS wage survey: wages to rise by 0.8 % in 2022"). If we only look at higher vocational education and training with federal professional qualifications and federal diplomas, the figures for promotion and wage increases look significantly better (see detailed evaluation =https://www.ausbildung-weiterbildung.ch/studie-fuer-weiterbildung-erwachsene). The same applies to persons who completed their further training more than two years ago.
Further information:
Modula AG
Aemetstrasse 6
8344 Bäretswil
Phone 044 930 30 30
Mobile 079 691 02 50
stefan.schmidlin@ausbildung-weiterbildung.ch
Directly to the general evaluations:https://www.ausbildung-weiterbildung.ch/studie-fuer-weiterbildung-erwachsene
Karriere.ch AG
Freiestrasse 55
8610 Uster
Phone 056 619 76 06
Mobile 079 358 68 31
claudio.weiss@karriere.ch
Directly to the career-oriented evaluation:https://www.karriere.ch/studie-weiterbildung-karriere.asp
Number of participants: 398
Target group: Adults who have completed further training
| All training courses | Courses with a certificate from a school or other organization | Professional examinations / federal certificate | Higher professional examinations / federal diploma | Higher technical colleges / federal diploma | CAS, DAS, MAS, MBA, EMBA at a university (FH, PH, Uni) | Other courses and training programs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction with the last training course | Answers "Very satisfied" and "satisfied" |
||||||
| How satisfied were you with your last training course? | 92 % | 92 % | 97 % | 91 % | 95 % | 87 % | 93 % |
| Benefits of further training | Answers "Completely true" and "True" |
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| I was able to expand my professional skills | 93 % | 93 % | 100 % | 100 % | 94 % | 87 % | 88 % |
| I have been given more interesting tasks | 70 % | 73 % | 66 % | 92 % | 75 % | 63 % | 66 % |
| I can complete more demanding tasks with better quality | 84 % | 82 % | 90 % | 92 % | 83 % | 85 % | 82 % |
| My chances on the job market have improved | 75 % | 77 % | 86 % | 100 % | 77 % | 76 % | 61 % |
| My self-confidence has increased | 80 % | 78 % | 83 % | 91 % | 83 % | 67 % | 87 % |
| My appearance has improved | 72 % | 68 % | 83 % | 92 % | 89 % | 66 % | 69 % |
| I can communicate my opinions and ideas better | 75 % | 75 % | 87 % | 100 % | 81 % | 65 % | 71 % |
| I can deal better with stressful situations | 61 % | 63 % | 69 % | 59 % | 64 % | 58 % | 60 % |
| I receive more recognition at work | 59 % | 60 % | 55 % | 75 % | 61 % | 54 % | 57 % |
| I receive more recognition in my social environment | 54 % | 58 % | 62 % | 67 % | 50 % | 54 % | 44 % |
| Effects on the career | Yes-answers |
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| I have been promoted since the start of the last training program | 22 % | 16 % | 29 % | 33 % | 53 % | 22 % | 11 % |
| Changed employer since the start of the last training program | 33 % | 31 % | 36 % | 50 % | 47 % | 30 % | 24 % |
| Have you been able to increase your income since your last professional development program? | 38 % | 27 % | 57 % | 58 % | 75 % | 35 % | 31 % |
Complete evaluation of the 2023 study: Documents
1st evaluation of the 2023 study "Continuing education for adults: What are the personal benefits?" Summary (PDF file) Download starts after clicking
2nd evaluation of Study 2023 "Continuing education for adults: What are the personal benefits?" Table with the detailed results (PDF file) Download starts after clicking
Complete evaluation of the 2021 study: Documents
1st evaluation of the 2021 study "Continuing education for adults: What are the personal benefits?" Summary (PDF file)
2nd evaluation of the 2021 study "Continuing education for adults: What are the personal benefits?" Table with the detailed results (PDF file)
The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts conducted two studies on the topic of "Educational benefits of continuing education" in 2017 and 2019. These studies analyzed the topics of "satisfaction with continuing education", "professional position and development", "professional competence", "personal development" and "income development". In 2017, 383 graduates of continuing education courses such as CAS, DAS, MAS and EMBA at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts were surveyed in the first survey; in the second survey in 2019, 314 people were surveyed.
Here is an excerpt from the results of the 2019 study "Educational benefits in continuing education"
Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch has produced over 80 model calculations on the subject of returns on education. The federal government's wage calculator (Salarium - Statistical Wage Calculator of the Federal Statistical Office) was used as a basis. It was analyzed how a specific further training course can affect wage development. Based on this data, sample careers were outlined and the effects of further training on working life were calculated. For example, a 23-year-old, purely operationally active IT specialist would earn around CHF 1,800 more per month after further training as a business IT specialist HF. The course costs of around CHF 15,000 would therefore be amortized after just one year. By the time she retires, the IT specialist would receive around CHF 885,000 more in salary, provided she works full-time until then. This does not take into account further salary increases or promotions, which could significantly increase this amount.
Here you will find various examples of educational returns:https://www.ausbildung-weiterbildung.ch/Bildungshilfe/Lohnerhoehung-und-Bildungsrenditen
Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch is conducting a major study on the benefits of continuing education in the field of adult vocational education and training until the end of November 2021. The results will be published here.
The "Finding the right continuing education" guide from Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch describes a four-step process that will help you to find the right training program with a high degree of probability. Here are the four most important steps, which are described in more detail in the guide:
Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch offers a separate guide on the topic of "Finding your vocation", as this is a major challenge for many people.
If you want to achieve the highest possible personal benefit from continuing education, you should focus on courses offered by higher vocational education and training or continuing education courses offered by universities. Of course, certificate courses are justified depending on your needs and situation, but at least in terms of the return on education, they generally far outweigh the worthwhile benefits of certificate courses.
Here you will find the free guides "Finding your vocation" and "Finding the right further training":https://www.ausbildung-weiterbildung.ch/Bildungshilfe/Ratgeber/
Linda, deine Weiterbildungsfinderin
