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This week numerous Swiss companies welcomed their new trainees. Companies that were able to fill all apprenticeship positions can consider themselves lucky. Numerous apprenticeship positions remain vacant, especially in the construction trade, in gastronomy and in industry.
Two companies, one problem: The Hotel Belvedere in Scuol, Graubünden, would have capacity for ten apprentices, but only five apprenticeship positions are currently occupied. At the Eugster garage in Thal, St. Gallen, the apprenticeship as a mechanic remained open for the start this summer. “We had very few applications this year,” says owner Fabian Eugster.
The car repair shop and the hotel business are active in sectors in which the situation is particularly precarious. An evaluation by the Yousty apprenticeship platform shows that construction companies make up 25 percent and the hospitality industry 13 percent of the vacant apprenticeships.
At the moment, it is mainly the low-birth cohorts who are leaving school, which is why the demand from companies for young people cannot be met by far. According to federal statistics, 12,000 positions remained vacant by the time apprenticeships started in August. When apprenticeship seekers are spoiled for choice, companies have to make themselves attractive to them.
Meet the boys as equals
According to Thomas Rentsch, Managing Director of the “Top-Ausbildungsbetrieb” support foundation, this means that the vocational trainees meet the boys on an equal footing: “It’s really bad if the boys are simply misused as cheap labour.”
A collegial relationship with a “first-name culture” is a matter of course for garage owner Eugster. It is important to him to put people first. He also offers the boys additional financial incentives, for example by helping to pay for driving lessons or by rewarding good grades in school.
Legend: Around 12,000 apprenticeship positions remained vacant this year. KEYSTONE/Alessandro Della Bella
He himself sees room for improvement in the recruitment process: He wants to offer taster apprentices more. In addition, the existing trainees will in future create Tiktok videos in which the company and professions will be presented. Hoping to appeal to more youngsters.
It starts even before recruitment
A family atmosphere is also important to the Hotel Belvedere. In addition, they are flexible when it comes to working hours and offer various discounts for sports activities in the region. But it begins even before recruitment, says Sandy Stöckenius, HR manager at the hotel: “We proactively approach schools, show the young people how diverse our industry is and what career opportunities there are.”
With these measures, the two companies are trying to be attractive to young professionals. They are in competition with others who are also courting the learners. This state of affairs will continue as long as there are more apprenticeships than job entrants.