From SwissInfo

Foreign graduates allowed to job hunt

Susan Vogel-Misicka
swissinfo.ch
Jun 12, 2010 - 18:55


Foreigners who earn a degree in Switzerland will soon have a better chance of finding a job there too.

Both parliamentary chambers have decided to allow foreign graduates to stay on for six months after their studies.

Currently, foreigners attending Swiss universities must return home after the final bell rings. That’s a missed opportunity, according to supporters of the motion, which passed the Senate on Monday with a vote of 28 to eight.

“Switzerland educates many highly qualified scientists, also from non-EU countries. Both they – and we – should have the chance to put their skills to use in our research and development fields,” Zurich senator Felix Gutzwiller stated at the recent parliamentary session.

The move will be especially significant for students from outside Europe – who do not benefit from the freedom of movement arrangements that make it easier for Europeans to live and work in Switzerland.

Gutzwiller and his fellow senators agreed that foreign graduate students should be allowed to stay if it is in Switzerland’s economic and scientific interest.

Also in favour was Ticino senator Filippo Lombardi, who pointed out that Switzerland annually recruits hundreds of highly qualified foreigners such as doctors and engineers.

“What’s better? Allowing foreign professionals to immigrate, or allowing those who have been educated at great expense at Swiss universities to stay and work here?” asked Lombardi while addressing his colleagues.

He also noted that it can be difficult to verify the qualifications of those educated abroad – a problem that doesn’t arise when the diploma is Swiss.


Caution

Yet not everyone is completely convinced. At the parliamentary session to discuss the motion, Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf cautioned that the move could lead to negative consequences for Swiss students faced with more competition.

“In Switzerland we have a relatively high level of unemployment, especially among young people. Some 40 per cent of university and technical college graduates can’t find work in their fields of study,” said Widmer-Schlumpf.

The number of foreigners pursuing higher education in Switzerland is significant and has been on the rise in recent years.

According to the Federal Statistics Office, the number of foreigners starting first or bachelor’s degrees increased by around eight per cent per year from 1997 to 2008. By 2008, 19 per cent came from abroad.

In addition, foreigners represent 18-20 per cent of master’s degree students and account for nearly half of those in doctorate programmes.

At the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, one third of all master’s students and almost two thirds of doctoral students are non-Swiss.

The institute’s director of international educational affairs, Anders Hagström, said the decision would make life easier for many of his students.

“Before this change, graduates wishing to stay on and work in Switzerland had to have found a job by the time they graduated, or be forced to leave," Hagström told swissinfo.ch.

"This meant they had to go job hunting during the final months of their courses. Now they can concentrate on their exams and look for a job after they graduate.”


A chance

Despite the potential threat of added competition, many Swiss students have welcomed the parliamentary vote to allow their foreign colleagues better access to the domestic job market.

“I’m very pleased with how it worked out – it’s an important step in the right direction,” Union of Students in Switzerland member Markus Schmassmann told swissinfo.ch. This past spring, his organisation campaigned for the proposal, which was initiated by Vaud parliamentarian Jacques Neirynck.

“Now we have to see how the implementation of the law goes forward. There is still some work to be done – we hope that problems affecting students, graduates and the Swiss economy can be solved,” Schmassmann said.

The motion involves a revision to the law and is still subject to formal final approval.

Naturally, the news is a boon for those who stand to gain the most from the revised legislation.

“I think this change in the law is quite good because most of the foreign students have to invest a considerable amount of money to study here,” Lucerne University student Jose Luis Baez told swissinfo.ch.

Originally from Chile, Baez is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in international design management. He’s in Switzerland on an “L” student visa, which needs to be renewed annually. Baez has to pay up to 15 times more for tuition than a Swiss student would.

Baez may transfer to the school’s graphic design programme in 2011. While he doesn’t necessarily plan to stay in Switzerland after earning his degree, he would appreciate having the option.

“After your studies are over, if you have at least the chance to look for a job and find one, it’s a nice way to benefit from your investment.”

The U.S. has a similar rule in place. What it led to was that Ph.D. students simply delayed turning in their Ph.D. dissertations until they had received a job offer, i.e., they started their 6 months after they had already found a job. 6 months then were enough for their future employer to do the necessary paperwork to get them Visa that would allow them to work legally in the U.S.

I would assume that the same will happen here in Switzerland. ETH Zurich and ETH Lausanne both started to convert to the Bologna system around 2005. The Bologna system makes our educational system more similar to that of the U.S.

1. The school year dates are normalized in all European universities to coincide with the U.S. dates, i.e., there are two semesters, a fall and a spring semester, that start and end at approximately the same dates everywhere.
2. We have replaced our former diploma degree by a bachelor degree and a master degree in accordance with U.S. norms.
3. The master- and Ph.D.-level programs are offered in English rather than in the local language.

As a consequence of these changes, we now attract considerably more foreign MS and Ph.D. students than in the past.

What hasn't changed is the fee structure, i.e., studying here in Europe is still essentially free, i.e., funded by the tax payer. For this reason, we don't have private universities, only public ones.