Switzerland’s federal government is spending more than it collects. To improve its finances it is looking for additional revenue and costs that it can cut. This week, the government decided to charge foreign students at its two federal universities, EPFL in Lausanne and ETHZ in Zurich, three times what they currently pay, reported SRF. Switzerland […]
Apprenticeships top choice for Swiss school leavers in 2024
Across much of the world, the number of school leavers starting apprenticeships is low and often in decline. In Switzerland, apprenticeships remain the preferred choice of most school leavers. In Switzerland, of the 94,303 young people about to complete compulsory school in the coming weeks, 55% listed an apprenticeship as an option of interest. By […]
The high cost of training Swiss doctors
Switzerland has a shortage of doctors. Training more is one way the government hopes to alleviate the problem. However, the high cost of training and the high level of staff turnover are formidable head winds. In Switzerland, becoming a doctor requires six years of study. At an average annual cost of CHF 120,000, the total […]
Switzerland’s catholic sex abuse investigation finds document destruction
In late 2021, the catholic church in Switzerland instructed historians to investigate sexual abuse within the organisation following evidence of widespread sexual abuse in the church in France. In May 2022 researchers from the University of Zurich started their investigation. This week they presented some of their results, reported RTS. The investigation marks the first […]
Sons leave home later than daughters in Switzerland
In Switzerland, 32% of women have moved out of the family home by the age of 20, compared to only 23% of men, according to data published this week by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). This gender different persists with rising age. By 25, 83% of daughters have left but only 68% of sons have. […]
Swiss government agrees to help mothers hoping to work more
In Switzerland, mothers are far more likely to have paid work than they were 30 years ago. In 2021, 82% had paid employment compared to 60% in 1991. Over this period, Switzerland has moved from one of the lowest European rates of working mums to one of the highest. However, a sizeable employment gap remains […]
8-step guide to hiring a nanny in Switzerland
Brought to you by quitt.ch – No. 1 provider of registration and administration services for domestic help in Switzerland. 1. What do nannies cost in Switzerland? Nannies are expensive in Switzerland. Average monthly salaries range from CHF 3,300 to CHF 6,500 depending on experience and where you live. Nannies cost more in Zurich, Basel and […]
Swiss fact: 44 Swiss municipalities have changed their official language since 1950
Language is a complicated matter in Switzerland. The nation has four official languages and numerous other languages and dialects. On top of this some Swiss have had to cope with shifting language borders. Between 1860 and 2000, 83 municipalities, known as communes (in French), Einwohnergemeinde1 (in German), comuni (in Italian) and vischnancas (in Romanche), changed their official […]
Grandparents look after 28 percent of Swiss children
Data published this week by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office show that 28% of children aged 0 to 12 years old were looked after by their grandparents. Overall, 61% of children under 13 years old spend part of their time being looked after by someone other than their parents. 35% spend time in childcare, 28% with […]
The quirky, neglected Swiss astronomer who designed a new way to look at “wicked” problems
By Peter Hulm Remembering a Glarus native who bubbled with new ideas his whole life. Deputy editor of Global Geneve Magazine Peter Hulm reports. Ninety years ago, on 16 February 1933, Fritz Zwicky posited the existence of dark matter. It then took three decades for cosmologists to accept his ideas (three years after his death), […]
