On October 23, 2024, Switzerland and the United States renewed their Memorandum of Understanding to expand and strengthen apprenticeships in both countries. The document was signed between Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, the Head of the Swiss Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research and three U.S. government agencies at the residence of the Swiss Ambassador in Washington, D.C. The agreement aims to deepen the exchange of knowledge, talent, and information between education and economic actors in both countries in the years 2024-2027.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) builds on the cooperation in the field of vocational education and training that has existed for several years between Switzerland and the United States. The collaboration was established with a joint declaration in 2015 and then institutionalized through a three-year MoU in 2018 and another in 2021.
Specifically, the MoU promotes the exchange of ideas and best practices through study tours and official delegation visits, the mobility of talent and apprentices, and the experience of Swiss companies committed to training apprentices in the U.S.
The signing ceremony opened with remarks by the Swiss Ambassador to the United States of America, Dr. Ralf Heckner, and followed by remarks from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training José Javier Rodríguez, Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Global Markets Arun Venkataraman, and Education’s Deputy Undersecretary for Postsecondary Education Jennifer Mishory. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin provided the final signature on behalf of the Swiss Confederation.
The following day, a high-level business lunch titled: “The Global Workforce of Tomorrow” took place in the heart of Washington, D.C. with Swiss and U.S. companies committed to training future talents with essential skills. One initiative discussed was the NextStep program for young graduates of the Swiss Vocational and Educational Training (VET) with a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate, which offers professional internships in the U.S. amongst other locations, for a period of three to twelve months. The program is an initiative of the cantons of Zurich and Vaud in collaboration with Swissnex and supported by the national agency for exchange and mobility – Movetia. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin also visited the JACT electrical training center in the state of Maryland and met U.S. apprentices as well as with representatives of the state government for a fruitful exchange on the topic of apprenticeship and skilled workforce.
As part of the last MoU (2018, 2021), Switzerland and the United States are drawing a positive balance about several initiatives that accelerated the transfer of knowledge between the two countries and facilitated numerous U.S. delegation visits to Switzerland to learn more about the unique Swiss vocational education and training system. As a result, several U.S. states have launched initiatives based on the Swiss model and regularly count on the rich knowledge of Swiss companies established within U.S. economic regions.
Click here to read the Memorandum of Understanding.
