Advanced Federal Professional Examination
The Advanced Federal Professional Examination is conducted for the purpose of determining whether a candidate possesses the expert knowledge, skills and know-how needed to run a company or work as an expert in his or her profession.
The Advanced Federal Professional Examination is governed by examination rules established by one or more professional organisations (in most cases trade associations) responsible for the given profession. These examination rules are submitted to State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) for approval. Examples of professions for which this qualification is issued: Master Building (profession no. 67032), Master Violin Maker (profession no. 54233), Health and Fitness Tourism Manager (profession no. 77342).
Those who pass the Advanced Federal Professional Examination are awarded the corresponding tertiary-level professional qualification from SERI.
For some professions, there are two federal examinations for professional qualifications. In such cases, the requirements for the Advanced Federal Professional Examination are higher than those of the Federal Professional Examination.
Each Swiss professional qualification is issued with a diploma supplement, which indicates the level that the qualification holds in the Swiss National Qualifications Framework for Vocational and Professional Qualifications (NQF VPQ) and the corresponding level in the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF) (updated at regular intervals).
Those who complete the preparatory course for the Advanced Federal Professional Examination receive a federal grant to cover a portion of their costs (see “Professional education”).
