Trainee-run post offices

Apprentices run a post office

The post office in Lugano Cassarate looks just like many other post offices apart from the striking number of young employees. And they're not only working at the counters, they're also taking on management roles. Seven apprentices take care of day-to-day operations, with responsibility for everything including the office's sales targets. These future retail professionals do receive support from experienced advisors, but the decisions they make are their own.

Responsibility brings success

In the trainee-run post office, motivated apprentices receive the best possible preparation for their future working lives. They assume responsibility at an early stage, can contribute their own ideas, and learn how to achieve objectives as a team. Melissa Clemente completed her apprenticeship in Lugano Cassarate and was given the opportunity to run the post office for three months in her third year. She likes to look back on her time there: “It was an intensive apprenticeship. We each had a chance to experience all of the jobs at the post office, planned day-to-day operations, and sometimes had to thrash out difficult decisions.” Melissa Clemente is convinced that the commitment paid off: “Today, my boss shows a lot of confidence in me, because he knows that I can handle responsibility.”

Eight trainee-run post offices in Switzerland

In all, Post Offices & Sales operates eight trainee-run post offices in three language regions. In addition to Lugano Cassarate, there are offices in Zurich Wollishofen, Prilly, Basel Spalen, St. Gallen St. Fiden, Chêne-Bourg, Lucerne Hirschengraben, and a bilingual post office in Biel Mett. The young people apply for the trainee-run post offices in their first year of apprenticeship, where they then spend their second and third years of training. They are placed under the managers of the respective regions.