Every second under 35 has a degree

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Every second 25 to 34-year-old in Switzerland today has a university degree or a higher vocational education. This means that the diploma quota has doubled since the turn of the millennium.

This is evident from the latest education report presented on Tuesday by Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin (63).

New universities are to blame

Stefan C. Wolter sat alongside the head of the Department of Economics, Education and Research (EAER) and a trained vintner. The director of the Swiss Coordination Center for Educational Research said that the often lamented academization can be explained. The growing number of people with such qualifications is mainly due to the reform of higher education. The “diplomatization” is thus due more to the development of technical colleges and teacher training colleges than to the universities.

For example, many cantons followed teacher training courses until the 1990s to teach. And even working in kindergarten did not require a high school diploma.

women in the majority

Today, women are in the majority at Gymi. This shows the improved position of women in working life. The increasing number of diplomas is also a result of the fact that more women are studying in the gymnasium. This in turn has led to additional training pathways being opened to them with a delay. According to Wolter, the university quota for women is now higher than that for men. In 1980, the proportion of women in grammar school was still 42 percent. In 2021, this will rise to 57 percent.

Compared to other Western countries, in particular the OECD countries, Switzerland has a very high share of 25 to 34 year olds with a degree. While in Germany this is 52 percent, in Italy less than 30 percent have such an educational qualification. But it is significantly higher in Korea. There, 70 percent have such a diploma.

Education experts explain the good performance in an OECD comparison with our dual education system, which has become more permeable. About a quarter of all women and men in Germany with a higher education have a higher vocational education. An example of this is Federal Councilor Parmelin himself: he once completed an apprenticeship as a farmer and later crowned this training as a master farmer and winegrower.

Despite the relatively low Matura rate, a very large number of people in Switzerland achieve higher educational qualifications. In Germany, for example, it is possible to obtain a diploma for a higher specialist exam in the fields of taxation and accounting, retail or construction.

Wanted employees in the market

There are also economic reasons why more and more people decide to go to university. Because people are still paying more for higher education – even though considerably more people now have such a diploma. In addition, the shortage of skilled labor is greatest in occupations requiring higher education.

Source:Blick