Revisiting the Pre-apprenticeship for Integration: Who Has Access, Who Does Not, and Why?

Author(s) : Barbara Elisabeth Stalder, Marie-Theres Schönbächler

Source : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13237606

Abstract:

Context: To enhance the vocational qualifications and job prospects of refugees, temporarily admitted persons, and late-arriving young adults from outside the asylum system, the Swiss government has introduced the pre-apprenticeship for integration (PAI). The one-year programme prepares those groups of migrants for a regular apprenticeship, qualified work, and a sustainable career. The PAI is structured similarly to two-year apprenticeships and is offered in various occupational fields. Since 2018, it included more than 4000 migrants aged 16 to about 36 from more than 90 countries.

Approach: The introduction of the PAI is accompanied by a research project that evaluates the quality of the learning provisions in the workplace and VET school and investigates the career prospects of the PAI participants. It is based on resource theory, the job characteristics model, and their adaptions to VET, and uses a mixed-method approach with surveys and interviews with all stakeholders of the six PAI cohorts. While previous publications have investigated the career prospects of PAI participants, at ECER 2024, we will focus on those migrants who were not admitted to the PAI or did not finish the programme. To this end, we will analyse monitoring data from the 18 participating cantons and the federal statistical office.

Findings: The analyses are ongoing, and findings cannot be provided yet. Results from the survey with employers and the interviews with the contact persons of the cantons suggest, however, that nonparticipation in the PAI and early leaving may have different and multiple reasons. They highlight that limited individual, social, and situational resources may lead to a misfit with the programmes’ requirements or the chosen career path.

Conclusions: Based on the findings, we will discuss possible measures to reinforce refugees’ individual resources and access to pre-vocational programmes and regular apprenticeships. We will elaborate on how situational resources in the workplace and VET school can be strengthened to support refugees effectively in their careers.