Let’s be ambitious!

Winterthur, 16.09.2014 - Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER International Vocational and Professional Education and Training Congress 15 - 18.9.2014

Ladies and gentlemen

The audience I am addressing here today is special in several ways, made up as it is of about 400 representatives from various African, American, Asian and European countries. It is an honour for my country and its government to welcome so many of you here today from all over the world. It is a particular honour to welcome the wife of the Vice President of the United States of America among us, educator Dr Jill Biden. The fact that the US president's office is honouring my country and our congress with your presence, Dr Biden, fills me with great pride. This event will go down as a highlight in the history of Swiss vocational education and training.

Dr Biden, your huge efforts to promote general education and vocational education and training, as a ‘lifelong educator', as you describe yourself, should be an example to us all.

If I may, I will repeat something that you said recently: The students at my school often overcome obstacles to be there: working multiple jobs, raising a family, caring for loved ones. They've made sacrifices in order to go to school, but they're doing it because they want to improve their lives and be able to contribute more to their community. This isn't just happening at my school in Virginia, but all around the world. We could make this statement the motto of our congress.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to some prominent representatives of the private sector and politics who have also done us the honour of coming to Winterthur

  • Guy Ryder, Director General of the ILO,
  • Subramaniam Ramadorai, Chairman of the National Skill Development Agency, Chairman of the National Skill Development Corporation and Vice Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services.

I also welcome Mr Simon Bartley, President of World Skills International, who is heading a delegation of over 150 World Skills International delegates from 70 different countries that is visiting us in Winterthur today. And finally, I would like to welcome all the representatives from our neighbouring countries and other countries of the European Union. I am delighted that we have this opportunity to strengthen our ties in the field of vocational education and training. Of course, I would like to be able to greet in person everyone here today from the worlds of science, the private sector and VPET, but there are simply too many of you here for this to be possible.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to attend and get involved in this event.

Ladies and gentlemen!

2014 is a very special year for vocational and professional education and training, or VPET, in Switzerland. Ten years ago we revised our legislation on VPET: Article 1 of the new law states that vocational and professional education and training is the shared responsibility of the Confederation, cantons and professional organisations. We also increased mobility within the VPET system and extended the opportunities available. And we set out clearly who is responsible for which aspects of funding the system. This set in motion a process of modernisation.

I do not intend to speak solely about achievements here in Switzerland. This congress is intended to raise the profile of VPET throughout the world and give it the attention it deserves. This is an ambitious aim, I know. I hope we can work together to achieve it. Promoting vocational and professional education and training is high up on my political agenda. Nationally and internationally.

It is a goal to which I have always been fully committed: In the many years during which I ran my own company, I always ensured that young people received training and were given vocational opportunities. I pursue this same aim today in my position as Switzerland's Economic Affairs and Education Minister. Training young people in vocational skills to ensure we have a sufficiently skilled labour market in the future is high on my list of priorities. We have made considerable progress in this area in recent years. To give you just one example, take the OECD rankings: Not long ago our country was regularly placed towards the bottom of the rankings because only 20% or our young people obtain an academic baccalaureate. More recently, however, there has been greater recognition of the fact that training a large number of young people in vocational skills is actually a strength and advantage.

Switzerland has a long tradition in this, and it is one we are proud of. A special feature of the Swiss VPET system is the very close link between the workplace and school. Vocational education and training takes place in the real world of work. Three out of four companies in our country offer training places. This sets an example,

  • puts young people in employment
  • and keeps unemployment figures down

and:

  • this practical training model, which responds to the actual needs of a changing economy, makes a huge contribution to the vitality of trade and industry in our country.

It is nonetheless clear that there is still insufficient or only superficial awareness of what VPET involves, even in Switzerland itself. Introversion and a failure to think outside the box can be found in the world of education too. This was one of the reasons why we decided not just to concentrate educational affairs in a single government department, but to combine them with economic affairs under one roof. Educational policies can only be successful if all the stakeholders can talk and cooperate at the same level.

In Switzerland, these are:

  • the cantons
  • the vocational schools and higher education institutions
  • the professional organisations
  • the social partners and businesses
  • and civil society.

All these players are involved in making decisions about developments in our school and education system, on

  • general education,
  • vocational education and training,
  • university education,
  • professional education and training
  • and continuing education and training;

Together we aim to make the system flexible, transparent and adaptable. A system with equal components and equal players. Let me explain more clearly what this means: It is true that an education system should train young people for the world of work. And it should also generate knowledge that is not necessarily directly applicable in a work situation. Knowledge allows us to ask new questions and see new connections, and it is this which moves us forward. I believe that education should involve acquiring a broad cultural base. People need to learn to be able to communicate effectively. They need to learn to live sidebyside with other cultures.

Above all, they must learn to get by in a foreign environment, confidently, responsibly and reliably. Communication and intercultural dialogue are therefore skills which are gaining in importance. An education system should produce responsible young people who can help shape our society. Industrial and service economies require all these skills. Once we have recognised this, we can overcome prejudice, break down clichés and stop playing off one form of education against another. A young person who decides to pursue vocational education and training should earn as much respect as one who chooses to study.

It is possible to achieve excellence in this field, as much as in any other. I am sure that Mr Simon Bartley, president of World Skills International, who is here with us today, will agree with me wholeheartedly. Nor should we accuse students in general of having no notion of the real world and of being unaware of the needs of the market.

It is important for us to find the right balance. This means that we must recognise young people's talents and steer them in the right direction. People must be given the opportunity to develop their talents unhampered by social, economic, cultural, political and genderrelated obstacles. To achieve this, innovation and creativity are required. We need to think outside the box, to use a concept popularised by management theorist John Adair.

This means realising the value of work in modern society, its effect on other areas of our lives and vice versa. And in particular, this means ensuring that every person can enjoy the dignity that comes from work, as President Barack Obama said in his widely acclaimed speech in Berlin just over a year ago. This doesn't just mean the high fliers; every person can enjoy the dignity that can be derived from work. Or in other words, we don't just need innovative specialists, we need people who are competent and committed at all levels, not just those who enjoy high prestige in society.

I am thinking of the wide range of jobs in the service industry, in healthcare and looking after the elderly. It falls to the high fliers, not just to concentrate on their own professional performance, but to help the weaker members of society who do not have the same educational advantages to get involved in the world of work and contribute actively to the development of society.

This gives individuals the confidence to shape their own lives, and increases society's confidence in the state and the economy.

Vocational and professional education and training plays a vital role in this. We must show that VPET is important for several reasons:

  • it benefits both the learners and the host companies which train them;
  • it brings benefits to society;
  • it helps to reduce youth unemployment, one of the largest threats of the 21st century, and gives young people an outlook in life;
  • it brings benefits to the economy: VPET is tuned to the needs of the market and enables companies to react flexibly to the increasingly rapid and unpredictable changes in the economic situation
  • it brings benefits to the international community.

If we manage to activate potential in VPET throughout the world, then we are helping to create new transnational links and extend the constructive exchange of knowledge and practical experience among countries.

Let's be ambitious!

Let us recognise and promote the advantages of vocational and professional education and training: nationally and internationally, as a key element of our education systems, as something which can foster cohesion in society and increase competitiveness. Many thanks to all of you for supporting my country, Switzerland, in these efforts, and for allowing Switzerland to support your country, your business, your association and all of you in achieving this aim.

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