The two-year basic vocational educational programmes in Switzerland: What is their inclusion potential?

Switzerland pursues the education policy target that 95 per cent of all young people acquire a qualification at Secondary Level II. The two-year basic vocational education programmes leading to the Swiss Federal Vocational Certificate (eidgenössisches Berufsattest, EBA) were introduced to enable disadvantaged young people to gain an initial qualifying certificate which equips them to integrate into the primary labour market, on the one hand, and to embark on higher-level vocational training, on the other. The article describes the EBA occupations, making reference to general statistical indicators. It goes on to take differentiated look at short-term and medium-term inclusion effects, and reflects on what inclusion potential this type of initial vocational training offers.