Can "Vocationalisation" of Education Go Too Far? The Case of Switzerland.

Abstract

While countries with predominantly academic school-based upper secondary education have been ‘discovering’ vocational education and training (VET) for some time, countries with ‘vocationalised’ education systems such as Austria, Germany or Switzerland are critically reviewing their own situations. This paper takes up the case of Switzerland, which can be considered, in several respects, as a sort of life-size VET laboratory. This contribution aims at critically highlighting particularities, recent developments, advantages and shortcomings of a post-compulsory education system geared as heavily to ‘vocationalisation’ as Switzerland’s.