Apprenticeships are taking off Advance with an apprenticeship

Every August, thousands of young people start an apprenticeship in Switzerland. Over the past few days, 300 young people have joined one of our offices or branches to start their practical training at UBS. In doing so, they have laid the initial foundations for a successful career.

Leandro Ceriani, IT apprentice, decided on an apprenticeship three years ago, and Sandra Vitto, Private Client Advisor, 14 years ago. Here they explain why they are both impressed by the strengths and opportunities of work-based training.

Sandra Vitto (29)

Private Client Advisor (PKI) in Zurich

"I completed my banking apprenticeship with the M profile 11 years ago. Besides the semi-annual change of department, I especially liked the internal school - today known as "Spezifika" - because we had a terrific atmosphere in our class.

My best memories are of the trainers and of the class camp in Davos in my second year, where we were asked to tackle various tasks creatively. Our team of four produced an action film à la Charlie’s Angels.

After completing the apprenticeship, I first worked for three years as a Private Client Advisor, before being given my own portfolio to manage and going on to gain my bachelor’s degree at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences while working.

As a practical trainer, I'm discovering that the demands on the trainees have grown and the importance of good grades and evaluations has risen. Accordingly, the focus of practical training now lies on the workplace. Today trainees are included in daily business in a major way and are entrusted with conducting advisory consultations without supervision."

Leandro Ceriani (18)

IT trainee in the fourth year of training, currently in Security Service Delivery, Zurich

"Even as a small boy I was fascinated by technology. Deep down I knew that one day I would work in IT. I learned about the profession at trade fairs, information events and online. I came across UBS on the yousty.ch apprenticeship portal.

It was clear to me that I wanted to do my apprenticeship in a large firm, that I didn’t want to be the only IT trainee. My father recommended I apply for an IT apprenticeship with UBS and he was entirely right.

What I especially like here is that although IT is global, there are certain regional differences, which makes this area very interesting. And I think it’s great that I can speak a lot of English here, was integrated into the team quickly and can work productively.

My next goal is to successfully complete vocational school, get a permanent position at UBS, get my mandatory military service behind me and then possibly attend a university of applied sciences."