Page 115 - BROCHURE-EUROGUIDANCE
P. 115
Courses in Switzerland The purchasing power of people living and working in Switzerland is higher than
the European average.
Small, mountainous and prosperous, a popular destination for tourists, Accommodation: rents are high and depend on the geographical location. The
Switzerland occupies a special place in Europe. It is known for its banks and its rent for an apartment in the centre of Geneva or Lausanne will be much higher
first-class industry. The unemployment rate there is particularly low, around 3.2%. than in their suburbs, or in a small town.
In 2014, the Swiss people responded favourably to the vote against mass There are rental announcements on many sites, such as:
immigration. Switzerland therefore operates today a preference for its own www.homegate.ch ; www.immobilier.ch ;
nationals at the time of recruitment. It does, however, call on a large share of www.immostreet.ch ; www.immoclick.ch ;
immigrants who form nearly 30% of its active population. The services sector takes www.newhome.ch (the cantonal bank estate agency sites) ; www.anzeiger.ch
first place with more than 77% of employees. Large groups of pharmaceuticals For flat-sharing, see the following sites:
and agri-food companies are based in Switzerland, such as Roche, Novartis, ColocAppart.com (the first Swiss-made flat-sharing site), sharehome.ch ,
Nestlé, COOP, Migros, etc/ wgzimmer.ch or even EasyWG.ch
It is a multilingual country (German, French, Italian and Romany) and English is
very widely spoken. Switzerland is a confederation whose organization is cantonal. Tips on finding a course and useful sites
Name and legal framework CV and covering letter
‘Stage’ - ‘Praktikum’ - ‘Tirocinio‘ www.espace-emploi.ch/jobsuche/bewerbungstipps ;
The concept of the training course is very developed in Switzerland and observation www.orientation.ch/dyn/10702.aspx (CV) ;
periods of a duration of two weeks maximum may be taken between the ages of www.orientation.ch/dyn/10693.aspx (covering letter)
13 and 15. Vocational training has an important place in the educational system:
young people have to carry out regular periods in business. It is therefore possible Useful sources of information
to take a professional course in Switzerland when in vocational training, a student ÷ For students: www.etudiants.ch
or young graduate. The courses are held under Swiss work contracts, whose ÷ The Franco-Swiss Chamber of Commerce for Trade and Industry: www.
legislation is much more flexible and liberal than in France.
ccifs.ch
Remuneration: the trainee must be compensated and even if there are no ÷ www.b2s.ch: Association to put students and companies in touch
minimum allowances, the cantonal authorities ensure that the compensation paid
is not less than a basic salary. Useful links to search for a course
The legal duration of weekly working time varies from 45 to 50 hours, but the ÷ www.suisse.enligne-ch.com/annonces_os.php
collective agreements are rather of 42 hours per week.
÷ www.optioncarriere.ch/emploi-stage.html: portal for jobs and courses
Administrative formalities: The contract may be written or oral and sets out ÷ www.jobcenter.info/praktikum-schweiz.html
basic conditions such as hours of work, tasks to be performed, remuneration, ÷ www.lingue-stage.ch
duration of the contract, etc. The employer pays the contribution for the risk of ÷ www.intermundo.ch
accidents at work.
÷ www.stages-emplois.ch
Practical life
Cost of living: the Swiss labour market is very popular with large international La presse
groups and wages are high (on average 60% higher than in Paris) but with a cost Tribune de Genève www.tdgemploi.ch ;
of living 17% higher than in France, according to OECD figures. Berner Zeitung www.bernerzeitung.ch ;
Basler Zeitungen bazonline.ch
114 115