Cyclical review and revision of VET programmes
Professional organisations are required to review their VET programmes at periodic intervals, every five years, to take into account economic, technological, environmental and didactic developments. Depending on the results, this five-year review leads to a revision of the VET ordinance and training plan established for the given VET programme.
In order to meaningfully carry out such a revision, it is important to consider the current situation as well as the future developments affecting the given occupation. This includes assessing the possible evolution and positioning of individual occupations within the economic, technological, sociocultural, professional and education context.
Each professional organisation submits an application for revision of a VET ordinance, takes responsibility for operational project management and specifies the content of the occupation. The Federal Administration (SERI) issues the VET ordinance for the corresponding VET programme (SERI Ordinance on Vocational Education and Training of...) and provides support during the entire review and revision process. The cantonal authorities are responsible for ensuring compliance with VET ordinances. For their part, each professional organisation establishes a committee for occupation development and quality (CODQ), which is given the task of conducting the review and revision process for each VET programme. Each CODQ includes an education expert appointed by the local cantonal authority, thereby enabling the cantons to guide and support the review and revision process from the outset.
With enactment of the Federal Vocational and Professional Education and Training Act (VPETA, SR 412.10) in 2002, a “VET sector reform” process was set in motion to replace the “Regulations on Vocational Training and Final Apprenticeship Examinations” with “VET ordinances”. This process is now complete.
