About SFUVET

The Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training SFUVET is Switzerland’s expert organisation for vocational education and training. We offer basic and continuing training to VET professionals, conduct VET research, contribute to the development of occupations and support international cooperation in vocational and professional education and training.

EHB building Zollikofen
SFUVET/Ben Zurbriggen

SFUVET is owned by the Confederation. The Federal Council defines the strategic goals of SFUVET. SFUVET is part of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER). It is a public-law entity with its own legal personality and legal basis.

SFUVET acts as an interface between trade associations, professional organisations and the 26 cantons (with hundreds of vocational schools and professional colleges). As a national institute, SFUVET plays an important role for these partners, acting as a central point of contact for all matters relating to development projects and the basic and continuning training of VET/PET professionals. SFUVET applies the principle of «building better practices through practice», whereby professional practices are constantly enriched by constant feedback between researchers and VET/PET professionals in the field.

SFUVET services

Basic training of VET/PET professionals

The Basic Training Division provides training to full-time and part-time teachers working at vocational schools and professional colleges as well as to other VET/PET professionals. Launched in autumn 2007, the Master of Science (MSc) degree programme in Vocational Education and Training provides university graduates with the opportunity to gain academic qualifications in the VET/PET field.

Continuing training of VET/PET professionals

The Continuing Training Division offers continuing training courses designed to upgrade the skills of VET/PET professionals; enable VET organisations to develop their activities; provide VET/PET managers with advanced training; and promote quality and innovation within the Swiss VET/PET system.

Research and development in the VET/PET field

The Research and Development Division explores and lays the foundations for basic and continuing training in the VET/PET field. In particular, it carries out evaluations and impact assessments or develops competence measurement concepts that serve as the basis for further VET/PET developments.

Development of Occupations

SFUVET’s Centre for the Development of Occupations provides professional organisations with assistance in the development and implementation of VET and PET programmes. Services in-clude: analysis and development of occupations; description of competences required to carry out a given occupational activity; and establishment of objectives, structure, duration and qualification procedures for VET and PET programmes.

Organisation and locations

The SFUVET Board is the body responsible for strategic management of the University. It consists of nine members selected by the Federal Council.

The SFUVET Executive Committee is comprised of the SFUVET Director General and five national division heads. The SFUVET Executive Committee sets objectives in accordance with the strategy devised by the SFUVET Board. It also decides how SFUVET's basic training, continuing training and R&D activities are organised. 

Go to SFUVET’s organisational chart.

SFUVET has regional campuses in Zollikofen near Bern (main campus), Lausanne and Lugano as well as off-campus space in Olten and Zurich.

SFUVET as an employer and institution

Around 250 employees work at SFUVET. SFUVET trains its own apprentices in the following career paths: Federal VET Diploma in Commerce, Federal VET Diploma in Information Technology and Federal VET Diploma in Mediamatics.

SFUVET provides an interesting working environment where you can actively shape vocational education and training in Switzerland. Are you looking for a new career challenge?

SFUVET promotes sustainability and equality in all areas of life and founded the Corporate Social Responsibility unit in 2017 to address these issues. Measures to improve equal opportunity and sustainability are defined and implemented each year in two working groups.

The quality cycles of the divisions and the three locations are interlinked at central level in SFUVET’s quality assurance system. Our common goal is to create the best possible conditions for good teaching and the organisation of study.

In the autumn of 2022, the Swiss Accreditation Council granted institutional accreditation to SFUVET as a university of teacher education in accordance with the Federal Act on Funding and Coordination of the Swiss Higher Education Sector (HEdA). In so doing, the Swiss Accreditation Council has certified that SFUVET satisfies the latest national and international quality standards for university-level teaching, research and services. This accreditation will remain valid until 2029.

Network and partnerships

The SFUVET Alumni’ association was founded in 2017 and fosters personal contact between graduates from all linguistic regions and programmes at SFUVET.

SFUVET is well connected in Switzerland’s educational landscape and collaborates with various national partner organisations and institutions.

History of SFUVET

SFUVET is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022. Today’s university was originally the Swiss Pedagogical Institute for Vocational Education (SPIVE). SPIVE was established in Zollikofen in 1972. A second campus was opened in Lausanne in 1975  for the French-speaking region of Switzerland and a third in Lugano in 1991 for the Italian-speaking region.

SPIVE's mandate covered basic and continuing training of vocational teachers in the commercial-industrial field, particularly full-time and part-time vocational teachers responsible for teaching and/or managerial, guidance or mediation activities.

Further tasks included the implementation of research and development projects in the vocational education field and the publication of studies and technical reports.

In 2001, the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET; now: SERI) broadened SPIVE's mandate to include the training of vocational teachers in the commercial field and the training of VET qualification procedure examiners.

In  January 2007, SPIVE became the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training SFIVET. This change resulted from two far-reaching reforms of the Swiss educational system:

  • Teacher training was elevated to tertiary level 
  • The VET/PET system was restructured

With these two reforms and the newly transferred tasks and competences, the structures and organisation of the Institute were adjusted and the courses were positioned to cover the whole of Switzerland.

On 1 August 2021, the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training SFIVET was renamed the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training SFUVET. The basis for this change is the Federal Act on the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training SFUVET (SFUVET Act) which the Federal Council decided to implement on 1 August 2021.

The HEdA provides a comprehensive legal basis for SFUVET’s activities. It also establishes the basis for SFUVET to position itself in the Swiss higher education landscape and to obtain the necessary institutional accreditation.

In the autumn of 2022, the Swiss Accreditation Council granted institutional accreditation to SFUVET as a university of teacher education in accordance with the Federal Act on Funding and Coordination of the Swiss Higher Education Sector (HEdA). This accreditation process began in 2019.