The Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) published a blog post about the General Assembly meeting of the EU STEM Coalition that took place on October 10-11 in Paris France. The blog post is available in both French and German.
The 'ensuring a nynamic skills-training and life-long learning system' chapter of the OECD's 2017 Economic Survey of Switzerland concluded that Switzerland makes more use of its human resources than most other OECD countries. Labour force participation is high and the unemployment rate low for most segments of society. This ensures a high standard of living for most Swiss people. Nevertheless, productivity growth is relatively slow. While this may in part be attributable to already being an advanced economy, it also means that Switzerland cannot be complacent with regard to education and skills. Its admirably low youth joblessness suggests that the transition from education to work is functioning soundly. However, there is mounting evidence that as the structure of industry is changing, due to globalisation and digitalisation for instance, vacancies and skills mismatches are spreading. The mix of skills being taught differs from those taught in most other high-income OECD countries in which a common secondary school track predominates and the emphasis is on equipping young adults with academic tertiary qualifications. In this context, it is important that the system is flexible enough to respond to shifts in the demand for skills and that workers continue to learn. While the participation of women and immigrants in the economy compares relatively well, more can still be done to improve equity in the accumulation of skills.
This review is one of a series of country reports on postsecondary vocational education and training (VET) in OECD countries, prepared as part of an OECD study (see Box 1.1). The series includes reviews, (such as this one) involving an in-depth analysis of a country system leading to a set of policy recommendations backed by analysis. In addition there are commentaries. These simpler exercises are largely descriptive but also including an assessment of strengths and challenges in the country system. The commentaries are designed to be of value as free-standing reports, but are also prepared so that they can become the first phase of a full review, should a country so wish.
The Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) is the most important network of experts for engineering sciences in Switzerland and is in contact with the highest Swiss bodies for science, politics and industry. The network is comprised of selected individual members, member organisations and experts.
On behalf of the federation, SATW identifies industrially relevant technological developments and informs politics and society about their importance and consequences. As a unique expert organisation with high credibility, it conveys independent and objective information on technology – as the basis for establishing well-founded opinions. SATW also promotes the interests and understanding of technology in the population, including young people in particular. It is politically independent and non-commercial.
