Commentary: Over-academization threatens Switzerland's prosperity and devalues vocational training

Switzerland's vocational training system, once a global benchmark, is being eroded by an "over-academization" trend, according to a commentary in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The article argues that an "out-of-touch elite" is pushing a university-focused path, even for students ill-suited for it, transforming education into a status symbol.

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Anyone who has not studied is considered second-class. That is not only a mockery of the true high performers.

This shift has led to a significant decline in apprenticeships, with the proportion of young people entering vocational training dropping from 75 percent at the end of the last millennium to just under 60 percent currently. The commentary criticizes this move towards "European standards" in education, noting that countries with higher university enrollment rates often suffer from higher youth unemployment.

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The over-academization endangers Switzerland's prosperity.

Economist Rudolf Strahm highlighted this "academic trap" in 2014, but his findings were reportedly ignored by the educational establishment. The number of university students has doubled between 2000 and 2020, fueled by the promotion of the gymnasium (university-track high school) as the primary educational route from primary school onwards.

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An out-of-touch elite weakens the dual education system, which is admired worldwide. Who will stop them?

Even attempts to bolster vocational training, such as through specialized secondary schools, have inadvertently harmed apprenticeships. Furthermore, universities of applied sciences, intended to create pathways from vocational training, are increasingly seen as "second-class education" that promotes "grotesque academization." The article concludes that this overemphasis on university degrees is unnecessary and detrimental to Switzerland's prosperity.

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The academic trap.