Alliance calls for further education boost

The government is facing pressure from an alliance of organisations to improve further education provision and press ahead with a draft law.

The Association for Further Education, which includes about 150 groups, said measures were needed to ensure the quality of the myriad special courses available and create transparency for users.

“Primarily we need more coordination between the different state institutions and private providers,” said the association’s president, Rudolf Strahm, on Monday.

He said moves had been blocked between the government and parliament despite a constitutional article approved three years ago.

He dismissed concerns by industry sectors that government subsidies for vocational training would be cut to fund further education efforts.

Josiane Aubert, speaker of a parliamentary committee, stressed further education should be a priority for the government during an economic crisis.

She added that one in two people in Switzerland no longer worked in the job for which they had been trained, which underlined the importance of further education.

The association called for a coherent strategy within the federal administration, as Switzerland and the European Union have agreed to increase international cooperation on further education.

Earlier this month an accord was initialed for Switzerland to take part in the EU’s Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action programmes.

Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch