Vocational training 

Training the specialists of tomorrow today

Swiss Post offers more than 100 job profiles and is one of the largest training companies in Switzerland. It provides young talent with varied, future-oriented courses of training. And it makes an important contribution to countering the shortage of skilled workers – including in ICT vocational training.

From automation mechanic to logistics specialist to mediamatics technician, training in 19 different professions is available at Swiss Post. The apprenticeships are offered in all language regions – in cities, in the countryside and in mountain regions. Around 2,000 apprentices are employed by Swiss Post at any given time. And every year, another 750 or so young people start their professional careers. “For Swiss Post, training is about more than just teaching,” says Bruno Schumacher, Head of Vocational Training at Swiss Post. “The youngsters are given careful guidance and empowered in many different respects. Above all, however, they learn early on to take responsibility and to play an active role in shaping their work and the working environment.” This means that at Swiss Post, trainees not only acquire technical skills, but also personal skills that help prepare them for their future careers. 97 percent of these young professionals leave Swiss Post having successfully completed their diplomas. Swiss Post is therefore fulfilling its performance promise to provide the next generation with the best opportunities on the labour market.

Co-initiator of a new ICT apprenticeship

“But we’re not resting on our laurels in this respect,” says Bruno Schumacher. “We are constantly refining our apprenticeships and gearing them both to young people’s needs and to the labour market and Swiss Post.” In 2022, for example, the four-year apprenticeship as a developer for digital business (Federal VET Diploma), the product of collaboration with partner organizations and companies, was advertised for the first time: a new training course in Switzerland that combines technology, business and people. After all, Swiss Post is also becoming more and more digital – and so too are its products and services. “By creating the new apprenticeship, we also want to do a little to counter the acute shortage of ICT specialists,” says Bruno Schumacher.

Swiss Post has been investing in training in this field for several years now: for instance, by setting up two talent incubators for IT technicians – Swiss Post’s ICT Campus and PostFinance’s Competence Center for Young Professionals (CCYP).

Interactive stand at SwissSkills, the Swiss professional championships

The vital importance of the Swiss vocational training system was also evident at SwissSkills 2022, where more than 120,000 visitors – including 64,000 school students – took inspiration and interesting insights from the diverse range of 150 different job profiles on show.   At the same time, the students had the opportunity to follow the national professional championships in 87 job categories during the major five-day event. Swiss Post was there with a large interactive stand, providing information on starting a career and on the 19 different apprenticeships offered by Swiss Post. Ten Swiss Post apprentices also rose to the challenge of the competition, taking part in the Logistics Technician, IT Software Solutions for Business, Mediamatics, Web Technologies and Commercial Employee categories. Yaël Wehrli won bronze medal in the Web Technologies category, even taking first place in the Speed Challenge, and said afterwards: “I’m proud that I even qualified for SwissSkills. Being the only woman among 23 men to manage to land a place on the podium makes me even happier. I hope I was able to show visitors to the job fair that information technology isn’t just a man’s field.”

Swiss Post goes TikTok

Since the middle of 2022, Swiss Post has also been on TikTok, the portal for short video clips set to music combined with the functionalities of a social network. Launched in 2016, the platform is used by almost a million people in Switzerland – most between the ages of 18 and 25. Swiss Post’s content is geared towards this young target group, making it particularly suitable for showcasing Swiss Post as a training company and employer.