Tertiary level - Professional education

In 2021, 29 090 diplomas were awarded in the field of professional education. Federal diplomas of higher education accounted for nearly half of them (15 828 qualifications). Next came colleges of higher education diplomas (9 977 qualifications), advanced federal diplomas of higher education (2 900 qualifications) and diplomas from professional education not governed by the VPETA (385 qualifications).

Professional education diplomas, change in numbers since 2000

Training type	2000	2010	2015	2020	2021
Total	22 633	26 789	26 453	25 684	29 090
Male	14 387	15 164	15 727	14 603	16 383
Female	8 246	11 625	10 726	11 081	12 707
Colleges of higher eduction diplomas (advanced federal diploma of higher education)	3 249	7 337	8 451	9 889	9 977
Male	2 414	3 774	4 387	4 910	5 004
Female	835	3 563	4 064	4 979	4 973
Advanced federal diplomas of higher education	3 316	3 167	2 707	2 538	2 900
Male	2 826	2 505	2 039	1 844	2 069
Female	490	662	668	694	831
Federal diplomas of higher education	8 932	13 137	14 835	13 012	15 828
Male	5 795	8 028	9 178	7 768	9 149
Female	3 137	5 109	5 657	5 244	6 679
Diplomas from professional education not governed by the VPETA1	7 136	3 148	460	245	385
Male	3 352	857	123	81	161
Female	3 784	2 291	337	164	224

1 VPETA: vocational and professional education and training act Source: FSO – Statistics on certificates (SBA)
Data as of: June 2022

Professional education allows people who have completed upper secondary education to deepen or widen their knowledge. It consists of several study paths: colleges of higher education, preparation for the federal or the advanced federal professional diploma examinations governed by the Vocational and Professional Education and Training Act (VPETA) and professional education courses not regulated by this act.

The number of professional education diplomas awarded has increased by about 30% in the past 20 years. A considerable increase was observed especially in the years 2000-2005, whereas the following decade tended to be characterised by stagnation. Great differences among the types of training can be seen not only with regard to diplomas but also in terms of gender distribution. Whereas the advanced diplomas of higher education continued to show the lowest proportion of women in 2021 (approximately 30%), the largest percentage of women (nearly 60%) can be found in professional education not governed at the federal level. The share of women at colleges of higher education doubled between 2000 and 2021, due in particular to the recognition of the study courses in the area of health as colleges of higher education.

The individual types of training were affected differently by trends in professional education diplomas. The number of colleges of higher education diplomas almost tripled in the period 2000-2021. For federal diplomas of higher education, an increase of approximately 75% can be observed for the same period, whereas the advanced federal diplomas of higher education stagnated at a relatively low level. The number of diplomas from professional education not regulated at federal level shrank in the period under observation by nearly 95%. The massive decline of this training type can be explained in particular by the fact that since 2005, many study courses at specialised schools in the field of health received federal recognition as colleges of higher education. This also goes some way in explaining the large increase in diplomas from these colleges.

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Students - Advanced professional education and training (PET)

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