Swiss schools abroad tackle teacher shortage

Going to teach at a Swiss school abroad is often a wonderful adventure, but there are also many challenges to overcome. ldd

Efforts are afoot to make it easier for Swiss schools abroad to find and recruit Swiss-trained staff. A parliamentary initiative proposes standardising employment conditions, to make working abroad more attractive for Swiss teachers.

The recruitment challenges facing the 17 Swiss schools abroad are now under discussion in the Swiss federal parliament.

To ensure the quality of education, these schools must by law employ a certain number of teachers with Swiss qualifications. In total, some 250 Swiss teachers work in the different schools, which are scattered across three continents. The schools receive Swiss government subsidies to help them fund some of the positions.

For several years, finding Swiss-trained teachers who are ready and willing to work abroad has been a struggle, and some schools have been unable to meet the required quota. In part, this is a consequence of the teacher shortage that has plagued Switzerland itself for several years, despite a recent uptick in some cantons.

Whilst the curriculum follows the Swiss one, Swiss schools abroad also place great emphasis on the culture of the host country. ldd

However, Swiss schools abroad also face their own, specific challenges. “The teachers follow the Swiss curriculum, while immersing themselves in a foreign culture. This requires much more than just a taste for adventure. They need to have sound teaching skills, a strong capacity to adapt and good psychological resilience,” says Serge Künzler, director of educationsuisse, the umbrella organisation that oversees the schools.

The dearth of candidates with Swiss qualifications means some schools have had to recruit teachers of other nationalities. Educationsuisse is now working hard to buck this trend. The body has taken steps to raise its profile, build its network and trial new approaches, such as job speed-dating events, where candidates can speak directly with headteachers.

Better employment conditions

A political solution is also under study. The Senate’s committee for science, education and culture has launched a parliamentary initiativeExternal link aimed at harmonising employment conditions for Swiss staff in Swiss schools abroad. It proposes amending the law such that teachers are hired by educationsuisse and then seconded to the various schools abroad.

Today, not all Swiss teachers abroad have the same status. Within Europe, they are already employed by educationsuisse. In the rest of the world, however, they are generally taken on by the schools themselves under a local contract.

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International agreements and national laws thus give rise to considerable discrepancies in terms of social security, wages and taxation. To offset the differences between the Swiss system and the host country, the schools have adopted different employment models. In addition, educationsuisse provides administrative support to teachers working outside Europe, so that they can keep contributing to Swiss social insurance.

The parliamentary committee for science, education and culture now wants to standardise these practices in order to ensure equal treatment and facilitate recruitment. The initiative, which is open for consultation until November 1, has the backing of educationsuisse. If Swiss teachers are employed directly by the umbrella organisation, it will be easier for them to remain within the Swiss social insurance scheme. A uniform framework will also encourage mobility between schools.

>>Read our article on teaching democratic values in Swiss schools abroad:

Social protection a major plus

The possibility of retaining social benefits comparable to those provided in Switzerland is indeed a major issue for expat teachers. According to a survey by the Swiss Federal Audit OfficeExternal link, it is the factor most frequently cited as “very important”.

After a period of settling in, Océane Voutat enjoyed her two years at the Swiss School in Bogotá. ldd

For Océane Voutat, 25, keeping a foothold in the Swiss social security scheme was key to her decision to relocate to the Swiss School in Bogotá, where she has now been for two years. “I’d just finished my studies and wanted to live abroad for a while. Working in a Swiss school meant I could practise my profession in another country while staying within the Swiss education system and keeping good social security cover,” she says.

The possibility of moving abroad without incurring any gaps in her social security contributions also appealed to Clara Frehner, who has been teaching at the Swiss School in Beijing since 2023. “Here, we have a Chinese contract, but we also sign an agreement with educationsuisse, which deals with Swiss social security contributions. This works out very well,” she says.

>> We met Carla Frehner before she set off for Beijing in 2023:

Adapting to life abroad

Beyond the administrative hurdles, the testimonies gathered for this article show that teachers abroad also face considerable personal and professional challenges.

Voutat, who hails from a village of some 300 people in the Bernese Jura, had to adapt to life in a megacity of over ten million. “The first six months [in Bogotá] were tough. I even considered heading back to Switzerland. In fact, several of my colleagues threw in the towel very soon,” she says.

Professionally speaking, it also took a while to settle in. “I had to adapt my teaching to the students, many of whom were learning French as a second language.” In Colombia, the work culture is also rather different from what she was used to in Switzerland. “In Switzerland, we have quite a rigid organisational structure. Here, things are more spontaneous; there are a lot of changes over the year. I found this a bit frustrating at first.”

Despite the challenges, Voutat describes the experience as very enriching. She has picked up Spanish, discovered a new culture and gained valuable professional experience.

Meanwhile, Frehner in Beijing says she quickly settled into her new life. “I moved here with my husband, which certainly helped ease the transition. Whenever I was going through a rough patch, he could help me through it, and vice versa.” The couple have now learnt a little Chinese to help them integrate better.

Fitting into Chinese society nonetheless remains a challenge, the 34-year-old acknowledges. “It’s hard to meet people, as many Chinese don’t speak much English, and many expats don’t speak Chinese. For anyone moving here on their own, this is probably the main problem, along with being far from family.”

Johanna Henao ldd

To make sure everything goes as well as possible, Frehner recommends researching language learning opportunities and getting in touch with the school and, if possible, other teachers in advance to get a clearer idea of what lies ahead. “It’s also important to go with the understanding that many things will be new and that it will take time before you feel at home,” she concludes.

Back to her roots

Swiss-Colombian teacher Johanna Henao is in a somewhat different situation. She grew up in Colombia and moved to Switzerland in 2002 to pursue her studies. After 20 years in Switzerland and several years in teaching, she decided to join the Swiss School in Bogotá, mainly so that her son could discover his Colombian roots.

“I wanted to give him a chance to learn Spanish and discover my country of origin and its culture,” she explains. The gamble paid off. Her son, who refused to speak Spanish when they lived in Switzerland, is now fluent. “For me, this is the greatest achievement of this whole experience. My son is now fully immersed in Colombian life and culture.”

Edited by Samuel Jaberg. Adapted from French by Julia Bassam/ts