Apprentices commute on average for one and a half hours per day
Zollikofen, 29.07.2024 - Data on Swiss apprentices' commute times has become available for the first time: A study by the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training SFUVET shows that apprentices cover considerable distances for their training, commuting an average of 80 to 90 minutes per day. Cantonal and language borders strongly influence their mobility.
For the first time, researchers at SFUVET have calculated the commute times of apprentices in basic vocational education and training across Switzerland. A study by Andreas Kuhn and Jürg Schweri shows that apprentices travel each way on average for 39 minutes to their workplace and 46 minutes to their school. This comes to 78 minutes of commuting per workday and 92 minutes per school day, corresponding to approximately 20 percent of their free time alongside work, training and sleep.
Longer commutes than employees
Overall, apprentices spend significantly more time commuting than Swiss employees who, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), spend 59 minutes per day on average. The commute times of apprentices in the SFUVET study, however, are based on travel times by public transport, with the mode of travel for employees being known.
For their conclusions on apprentices’ commute times, Andreas Kuhn and Jürg Schweri linked data from basic vocational education and training statistics with data from the Business and Enterprise Register (BER) of the Federal Statistical Office. This meant analysing the data of the approximately 175,000 vocational education and training apprentices during the 2021/22 school year.
Cantonal and language borders as influencing factors
The study also showed the effects of language borders on the mobility of students: Just barely one percent completed their training in a different language region. Around 15 percent trained at a company outside their residence canton, and around 11 percent had to attend a vocational school outside of their residence canton to learn their occupation.
SFUVET's researchers conclude that commute times also influence young people’s occupation and apprenticeship choices. The researchers will analyse the geographical areas and regional apprenticeship markets in more detail in a further study.
The report “Trend in focus: Apprentice mobility patterns in dual basic vocational education and training” is available at:
www.sfuvet.swiss/news/mobility-patterns-apprentices-dual-track-vet
Address for enquiries
Prof. Dr Jürg Schweri, OBS SFUVET, juerg.schweri@sfuvet.swiss, +41 58 458 27 82
Jacques Andres, head of communication SFUVET, jacques.andres@sfuvet.swiss. +41 58 458 27 12
Publisher
Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training SFUVET
State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
http://www.sbfi.admin.ch
Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
http://www.wbf.admin.ch
