Apprenticeships boost immigrant integration in Switzerland

Beat Jans honours successful integration pre-apprenticeship Keystone-SDA

Swiss justice minister Beat Jans has praised the role of pre-apprenticeship INVOL programme for helping integrate immigrants into society.

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INVOL prepares refugees and immigrants for basic vocational training over the course of a year.

The Confederation believes that pre-apprenticeships make a valuable contribution to the integration and training of skilled workers in Switzerland. The authorities base their assessment on an evaluation commissioned by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).

According to the evaluation, 83% of participants successfully complete the INVOL and 70% start a basic vocational training programme immediately afterwards. Some 86% graduated within three years, according to SEM.

Early departures are mainly due to a lack of aptitude for the profession, a lack of language skills, health problems or family difficulties.

The programme not only helps to strengthen professional skills, but also promotes social integration. At the same time, domestic recruitment helps to slow down immigration, the report continued.

The companies participating in INVOL give highly motivated young migrants the opportunity to integrate permanently into the Swiss labour market, said Jans.

The pre-apprenticeship is aimed at recognised refugees, temporarily admitted, late immigrants and people with protection status S without an upper secondary level qualification. During the one-year programme, participants acquire academic and practical skills in preparation for an apprenticeship.

Since the SEM launched the pilot programme in 2018, over 4,700 people have taken part in INVOL. The vast majority of them have now started or already completed an apprenticeship. Some 20 cantons are participating in INVOL.

The Confederation and cantons want to expand the INVOL occupational fields in the coming years and increase the proportion of migrant women who complete vocational training.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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