Effects of Covid-19 on VET

The project will first investigate how the Cantons and industry dealt with pandemic measures and the associated restrictions. Secondly, it will explore whether the pandemic has affected companies’ recruitment strategies and training processes in the short and long term and, if so, under what conditions. The researchers will also investigate whether the pandemic has changed demand for apprenticeships in certain occupations. Thirdly, they will investigate whether trainees who completed their vocational education during the pandemic can be shown to have followed different training paths and also entered the employment market differently from trainees who graduated before the pandemic. The project will help prepare vocational training structures for future crises more effectively.

Covid-19 affected vocational training differently depending on canton and professional field. The pandemic made it harder for young people to find apprenticeships and forced companies to conduct taster days and interviews online. Company and college training processes had to be adapted, as did the way qualification procedures were conducted. Entry into the employment market was also impeded at times.

The project aims to identify the different levels at which the coronavirus pandemic affected vocational training and determine how it did so. It will try to determine whether longer-term changes in companies’ recruitment strategies and training processes can be observed in addition to the short-term changes, whether young people’s training preferences have changed and the extent to which the pandemic affected training paths and employment market entry.

Current research has focused on the impact of Covid-19 on education in schools. Little is known about how company learning processes and apprentices’ training paths were affected. This also applies to the question of how much the impact of the pandemic varied by professional field and region, whether the pandemic caused short- and/or long-term changes and the extent of those changes.

The findings obtained by the project will help improve our understanding of the impact of the pandemic on various stakeholders in vocational training (professional organisations, companies providing training, trainees) and how they responded. Stakeholders in vocational training, government and educational administrations will be able to use the findings to ensure that vocational training in Switzerland is better prepared for future crises.

Short- and long-term impacts of Covid-19 on vocational education and training: Strengthening VET in times of crises