Switzerland offers a model for innovative workforce training.
In what would seem to be a pretty good deal for the United States, the U.S. Labor Department recently renewed a three-year-old agreement with Switzerland to promote an “exchange of ideas” on expanding apprenticeships. Given the global renown of Switzerland’s apprenticeship system, it’s a good bet that a lot of those ideas will be coming from the Swiss.
“Switzerland’s active apprenticeship system,” reads a lengthy report from the Urban Institute, the U.S. public policy organization, “has served as a model for others across the globe. It is viable because of its strong partnerships between educators and employers, relevance to immediate labor market needs,” and high rates of participation.
A cornerstone of the Swiss model (also known as the Swiss-German model) — one that stands in stark contrast to most apprenticeship programs in the U.S. — is how it engages Swiss students at an early age and presents apprenticeships as of equal value to more formal academic pursuits. It’s a pitch that’s bolstered by the fact some of Switzerland’s top CEOs began their careers as apprentices. As a result, as many as three-quarters of all Swiss students enter into three-year or four-year apprenticeships between the ages of 15 and 17. Parents from across the economic spectrum encourage their children to pursue apprenticeships.
Colorado is one of several states that’s taken notice. A 2016 trade tour to Switzerland led by then-Gov. John Hickenlooper resulted in the creation of CareerWise Colorado, a Denver-based workforce development program that has adopted elements of Switzerland’s dual-track “earn and learn” approach, beginning as early as age 16.
CareerWise connects high school juniors with three-year paid apprenticeships at one of dozens of participating businesses, where they learn practical skills while earning high school and college credits. Students spend three days a week in the classroom and 16 to 24 hours a week in the workplace. They emerge from the program with hands-on work experience, recognized industry certifications and debt-free college credits. A 2022 survey found that 98% of those who had completed CareerWise Colorado apprenticeships had either gotten jobs or enrolled in postsecondary education.
A Model Program in Charleston
Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina, has taken the Swiss-German approach and run with it, in the process garnering successes that have made it a model for other apprenticeship programs. Its defining feature is early engagement, beginning with rising high school juniors matched to talent-hungry employers in a mentoring role.
“If you think of the high schools, that’s a huge population of people that you can tap into if you’re just willing to train them,” says Mitchell Harp, Trident’s dean of apprenticeships and employer partnerships. “One of the reasons employers tell me they like to hire a young person is that you get an opportunity to grow them, which also breeds loyalty. It’s a true pipeline directly to your organization,” Harp says, “and I believe it’s the program of the future.”
Pre-nursing apprentice Meaghan Schaufele (l.) of Trident Technical College
Photo courtesy of Trident Technical College
Trident’s Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship Program, says Harp, has grown over the course of its 15 years to where it now offers 110 apprenticeships with 100 different companies in fields that include advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, culinary arts, supply chain management, hotel operations and health care. A pre-nursing program that partners with three local hospitals has graduated close to 200 apprentices since its inception several years ago.
“They are not sitting around answering phones,” says Harp. “They are doing patient care. Vital signs, EKGs, phlebotomy, making the beds. They’ve helped deliver babies. I’ve seen them do some amazing things.”
Upon high school graduation, Trident’s pre-nursing apprentices have accrued a nationally recognized certificate and enough college credits to put them within a few short semesters of a nursing degree that can compel starting salaries in excess of $60,000, Harp says.
“We want to build a pipeline for nurses in Charleston, so that’s why we decided to call it pre-nursing. We want them to get a career and a sustaining wage, which is what happens when you’re an RN. It truly changes your life.”
The Business Case
Beginning with cost savings, the benefits to businesses that offer apprenticeships are many. By training prospective workers internally, “employers can reduce costs associated with recruiting and hiring experienced workers from outside the company,” reports Washington state’s Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee, which facilitates apprenticeships across multiple industries, boasts more than 300 partnering employers and serves more than 400 apprentices annually.
“Apprenticeships,” according to AJAC, “help employers develop a highly skilled workforce tailored to their specific needs,” and “often lead to higher employee retention rates as apprentices are more likely to stay with a company that has invested in their training and development.”
Advantages such as these have helped to persuade some of the nation’s most innovative employers to buck traditional resistance to offering apprenticeships. Among them:
- Accenture: In 2016, the global professional services company established an internal apprenticeship program. One year later, it co-founded the Chicago Apprentice Network and partnered with local employers such as McDonald’s, JP Morgan Chase and Walgreens to jumpstart their own apprenticeship programs. Accenture has set a goal for apprentices to make up 20% of its entry-level hiring and has served more than 2,000 apprentices since the program’s launch.
- Airbnb: The online marketplace for rentals offers a six-month paid internship that provides a pathway to entry-level software engineering roles. Airbnb’s Connect Engineering Apprentices receive scoping, pairing and code review support from company engineers and are paired with dedicated mentors for technical and professional guidance. Airbnb partnered in 2024 with the Tech Pathways Initiative of the California-based Kapor Foundation, which seeks to support Black, Latine and Native job seekers in emerging tech industries.
- Pinterest: The popular social media platform’s Pinterest Apprenticeship Program is likewise geared toward candidates from non-traditional backgrounds and others who might face barriers to entry in the tech industry. Lasting up to one year, the Pinterest program offers hands-on experience in engineering, product management, design and research with the potential for conversion to a full-time role.
- Snap: In August 2024, the parent company of Snapchat launched an 11-month apprenticeship program open to new college graduates with degrees such as computer science. Called Snap Up, the program offers instruction in software engineering, combined with on-the-job training, mentorship and a path to full-time employment. The training is taking place at Snap’s engineering hubs in Santa Monica, Palo Alto and Seattle.
