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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Where are the jobs in Switzerland for English speakers?

Switzerland seems to offer it all for the international worker - a very high standard of living, great pay, excellent infrastructure and stunning natural beauty in the heart of Europe. The question is, are they hiring? 

Published: 22 February 2024 15:38 CET
Trams in Zurich.
Trams in Zurich. The Greater Zurich area has a lot of potential for jobs. Image by Markus Krebs from Pixabay

We examine what you’re most likely to find a job doing as an English-speaker in Switzerland, and get an insight on the job market from one sector popular with new arrivals.

What and where – theoretically – are the jobs? 

Thanks to a combination of geography – being right in the middle of Europe – politics and history, Switzerland is a country where a number of large companies and research organisations are based. 

Banking, of course, is a Swiss strength. UBS and Raiffeisen are two local powerhouses, but there are also a significant number of private banks catering to an affluent clientele. 

Most global banks also have one or more offices – many of them in the nation’s financial capital, Zurich. 

Pharmaceuticals are another area in which Switzerland excels – it constitutes around five percent of the country’s gross domestic product. 

Swiss pharmaceutical giants include Roche and Novartis, with smaller, more specialised companies numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands.

READ ALSO: ‘10,000 job vacancies’: Where are workers in Switzerland most needed?

Many of these are based in or near the city of Basel, and as a consequence, many international pharmaceutical companies also have a presence there. 

The so-called ‘Health Valley’, stretching from Geneva eastwards towards Montreux is also home to over a thousand companies in the medical and life sciences field.  

Switzerland is also a leader in research and education, with several universities among the world’s top-ranked for research and innovation. 

Top employers in scientific research include the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, the University of Zurich, the University of Basel and the University of Bern.

Leading business schools such as the International Institute for Management Development, the University fo St Gallen and the Swiss Business School also employ a significant number of educators and international support staff. 

Signs of trouble? 

If you’re an IT worker, however, be wary. Despite the relative concentration of executive-level and research jobs within Switzerland, the events of the last few years have seen tech jobs take a beating. 

Greg Tomasik, founder of job board SwissDevJobs.ch told The Local: “The IT job market is currently much worse than in the beginning of 2023. 

“Starting in 2020 there was a big bull run in the job market, up until mid 2022. After that, the bubble started losing air. 

“Currently, there are around 30 percent less open roles compared to the beginning of 2023. On the other hand, the average number of candidates per job doubled, from 14 to 28.”

If you are seeking tech-related jobs, however, one area does stand out. 

Greg continues: “The Greater Zurich area remains the main economic hub in Switzerland. It is also where most of the tech roles are located. 

“We also see some rise in crypto-related roles in Zug area since most of the crypto companies are located there.”

Greg Tomasik, founder of SwissDevJobs.ch

With more candidates for fewer jobs, Greg has some focused advice for those looking for a Swiss tech job.

“Try to make sure that you fit the essential requirements. In the application, try to highlight that you meet the requirements and add a few sentences why you are applying specifically to this company,” he said. 

“Only a small fraction of candidates do it, and you will definitely stand out if you go to the effort. 

“One more thing, especially for junior candidates: learn the AI coding tools and stay on top of current trends. Tools like Copilot replace much of the work that was previously done by junior software engineers, and now they also need to adapt.”

READ ALSO: Why is Switzerland’s chronic labour shortage worsening?

Member comments

  1. It’s a good description of what is available. I would add that the UN agencies and NGOs around Geneva sometimes have jobs for English speakers, and also that there are a lot of international sports federations in Switzerland, many of which work mostly in English.

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For members

WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

The pitfalls of Switzerland’s social security system you need to avoid

In most cases, Switzerland’s social benefits system functions well. But there are also some loopholes you should know about.

Published: 24 April 2024 13:37 CEST
The pitfalls of Switzerland's social security system you need to avoid

The Swiss social security system has several branches: old-age, survivors’ and disability insurance; health and accident insurance; unemployment benefits, and family allowances.

This is a pretty comprehensive package, which covers everyone who pays into the scheme for a wide variety of ‘what ifs’.

As the government explains it, “people living and working in Switzerland benefit from a tightly woven network of social insurance schemes designed to safeguard them against risks that would otherwise overwhelm them financially.” 

But while most residents of Switzerland are able to benefit, at least to some extent, from this system, others don’t.

What is happening?

If someone becomes ill or has an accident, Switzerland’s compulsory health insurance and / or accident insurance will cover the costs.

However, a prolonged absence from work can become costly.

That is especially the case of people employed by companies that don’t have a collective labour agreement (CLA), a contract negotiated between Switzerland’s trade unions and employers or employer organisations that covers a wide range of workers’ rights. 

READ ALSO: What is a Swiss collective bargaining agreement — and how could it benefit you?

It is estimated that roughly half of Switzerland’s workforce of about 5 million people are not covered by a CLA.

If you just happen to work for a company without a CLA, your employer is not required to pay your salary if your illness is long.

You will receive money for a minimum of three weeks – longer, depending on seniority — but certainly not for the long-haul.

You may think that once your wages stop, the disability insurance (DI) will kick in.

But that’s not the case.

The reason is that DI can be paid only after a year after the wages stop. In practice, however, it sometimes takes several years of investigations and verifications to make sure the person is actually eligible to collect these benefits, rather than just pretending to be sick. 

In the meantime, these people have to use their savings to live on.

What about ‘daily allowance insurance’?

Many companies (especially those covered by a CLA) take out this insurance, so they can pay wages to their sick employees for longer periods of time.

However, this insurance is optional for employers without a CLA is place.

As a result, small companies forego it because it is too much of a financial burden for them.

And people who are self-employed face a problem in this area as well: insurance carriers can (and often do) refuse to cover people they deem to be ‘too risky’ in terms of their age or health status.

Critics are calling the two situations —the length of time it takes for the disability insurance to kick in and gaps in the daily allowance insurance—”perhaps the biggest failures of the social security system.”

Is anything being done to remedy this situation?

Given numerous complaints about the unfairness of the current system, the Social Security and Public Health Commission of the Council of States (CSSS-E) will look into the “consequences of shortcomings and numerous dysfunctions in long-term illness insurance.”

But not everyone in Switzerland sees a problem in the current situation.

According to the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA), for instance, “making daily sickness allowance insurance compulsory for employers would not have the desired effect. Due to false incentives, it would only exacerbate the upward trend in costs and premiums.”

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