2023-06-23 20:27:22
Many young people choose the gymnasium stream rather than an apprenticeship. In the canton of Vaud, the number of high school students has quintupled in 45 years. In this context, companies active in the construction sector are struggling to find replacements.
If only 12% of young people went to the gym in 1976, today they are 41%. The number of students in Vaud gymnasiums has multiplied by 4.7 in 45 years, observes Statistics Vaud.
>> Lire: The number of Vaud high school students has almost quintupled in 45 years
The number of students in Vaudois gymnasiums has increased from around 3,000 in 1976 to more than 14,000 in 2022. [RTS]This increase is almost four times faster than the increase in the number of young people of age to go to the gymnasium, explains the State of Vaud in a press release. From now on, more than 14,000 students attend the gymnasium: nearly 10,000 in the Matura course and 4,500 in the Diploma course, including business schools.
Lack of succession
This increase has consequences for companies looking for apprentices, as noted by Maurizio Alibrando, boss of Marmillod SA. The tinsmith, who is struggling to find replacements, must therefore adapt.
“We opened the door to the family. My son and nephews work with me,” he explains. “We have to find a system D. So our company is part of a group where the general management is studying the four-day week. We are fighting,” he continues.
And for the few apprentices who embark on a trade in the field of construction, it is necessary to face the negative a priori linked to the profession. When he talks regarding his work, the friends of young apprentice Lorenzo Gerardi bombard him with questions: “Aren’t you afraid of heights? Isn’t it too cold? Not too hot?”.
Looking for solutions
Faced with this exodus of young people towards gymnasium training, the State of Vaud is seeking to reverse the trend, by promoting internships in companies. “The idea is that even those who are preparing to go to the gymnasium have the possibility of doing internships to discover a job that might suit them”, explains Frédéric Borloz, Vaud State Councilor.
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In Geneva, a space dedicated to vocational training is under construction. The ForPro Foundation will include a watchmaking school, offices and laboratories where young people can test their skills.
“You will be able to come and do a project, whether you are a pre-apprentice or an apprentice, which corresponds to what you want to do as a job”, explains the director of ForPro, Joëlle Mathey. And for those who do not know what they want to do in life, the foundation offers to carry out a series of projects. “It is by testing that we will identify skills and desires”, continues Joëlle Mathey.
Of the approximately 77,000 apprenticeship places offered for the summer of 2023, a third of the apprenticeship places have not yet found a taker. This gives the full measure of the challenges ahead.
Claude-Olivier Volluz/edel
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