Continuing education and lifelong learning
Continuing education is important for individuals, society and the economy. The constant changes in the labour market combined with technological advances challenge adults to adapt and develop professionally throughout their working lives.
SERI, together with the cantons, the private sector and other partners, seeks to encourage individuals to actively pursue continuing education on both a professional or personal level.
Basic skills are a prerequisite for lifelong learning and enable individuals to become socially and professionally active. SERI is therefore working with the cantons to ensure that adults can acquire and maintain basic skills.
Companies also benefit from having highly trained workers. SERI helps companies to prepare their employees for work-related challenges through the provision of continuing education.
SERI's other objectives include creating incentives for continuing education providers and ensuring that federal and cantonal authorities regulate and support continuing education in a coordinated fashion.
In addition, facilitating vocational qualifications for adults has been a priority objective for VPET partners since 2014. As such, they seek to improve the general conditions enabling adults to obtain vocational qualifications.
Adult acquisition of basic skills
SERI works with the cantons to ensure that adults can acquire and maintain basic skills. Such skills are a prerequisite for lifelong learning and enable participation in social and everyday working life.
Vocational qualifications for adults
In Switzerland, there are four pathways that enable adults to obtain a Federal Vocational Certificate (i.e. two-year VET programme) or Federal VET Diploma (i.e. three- or four-year VET programme).
Continuing education in companies
With the ‹Simply better!› campaign, SERI encourages companies to prepare their employees for the challenges encountered at the workplace. In addition, the Continuing education for SMEs project helps trade associations develop and test coaching services that draw attention to continuing education options available for the given area of activity.
Continuing education providers
SERI can support the information, coordination and quality assurance activities of national and non-profit continuing education providers.