Читать книгу The Swiss Vocational Education and Trainig Initiative India - Ursula Renold - Страница 17

The choice of courses in tertiary education is diverse. The upper-secondary II education diplomas open doors to appropriate tertiary education programmes, for which no entrance examinations are usually required. Some exceptions are study programmes in medicine or other areas with limited study places (e.g. music, design or social work). Figure 2 shows how graduates with a VET diploma have direct access to professional education and training (PET) programmes. They can choose from among 400 different programmes that lead to a Federal PET Certificate or an Advanced Federal PET Diploma. Alternatively, VET graduates can choose one of 450 educational programmes at PET colleges to obtain a college diploma. The entry requirements to one of these pathways is a few years’ previous work experience. The reason is that these pathways are intended to deepen the students’ knowledge in a practical area, and preparing them for a future leadership position.

Students with a general education qualification, however, have direct access to Swiss universities. The baccalaureate entitles them to study at different universities, two federal institutes of technology and at teacher training colleges. The bachelor’s degree takes three years, the master’s degree between one and a half to two years, and the doctorate three to five years. The exact amount of time depends on the degree chosen.

Apart from the direct transition paths, there are also indirect paths, which allow the students to change between the two main pathways. In the 1990s, the federal government introduced the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate for VET students, which opens the doors to universities of applied sciences (UAS). The VET degree is the basis for the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate, as that programme is always undertaken in combination with an apprenticeship (either during or after the basic vocational education and training). The «passerelle» (university aptitude test) is a supplementary examination for VET graduates, which was introduced in 2005, and which makes it possible for students with a VET degree to study at a conventional university, a Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology or a teacher training college. The university aptitude test should not be seen as an entrance examination, as it generally involves one year of additional training, leading to university entrance. In summary, it would seem that VET students in general require more academic knowledge in order to move from VET to general education.

In contrast, students with an academic baccalaureate need at least one year’s working experience in the labour market to be admitted to a university of applied sciences. Specific work experience in the chosen field is required in order to continue studies in a PET programme. When summing up all these requirements, it appears that students with a general education qualification need to be able to show practical experience and skills in order to change their course of education.