Hello r/switzerland,

I have been in Switzerland, Zurich for only 2 years. My German is not good enough (as you can see from the results), and I am currently searching for an apprenticeship. I was getting denied because I did not know the system, and there was a language barrier. But my friend told me that if I did that test, I could prove myself. I did it, and it went well, but there was a problem: German. I just can't do it; I don't know why.
But I will send my applications with that. What do you think about it? Should I do it again? Because it's about IT, so English is the key.
I really want that apprenticeship, but I can't find it.

by Yusuf_Kemal

7 comments

  1. Have you gone to school to learn German? This isn’t really a language one can learn through osmosis, at least not well.

  2. ICT is primarily in English, but thats useless if the classes are taught in German. I think in Canton Zug they started the English speaking Apprenticeship for IT. Not sure if it still exists but maybe worth a shot?

  3. You’ll need German for the apprenticeship, which doesn’t mean you can’t apply. Chances are though, that they will require you to talk German for applying amd of course also during the apprenticeship.
    If you get one, some schools do an “Einstufungstest” at the beginning of the first year. If you suck in German, the school might make you go to a “Stützkurs Deutsch” (German Refresher/Support). It’s often in the evening after classes, free of charge. But it will mean more work and study time for you

  4. >Because it’s about IT, so English is the key.

    Try telling that to your customers? Spoiler: They are the ones who ultimately make sure you have a job and a salary. So … you better speak their language.

    No customers = nobody paying for your services = company doesn’t make money = no reason to employ you = no salary and no job for you.

    “I work in IT, so English is fine .. ” is only true for VERY FEW select roles, e.g. usually highly qualified job positions that don’t have a lot of interaction with any end-customers.

    >I really want that apprenticeship, but I can’t find it.

    German is a “must-have” in your case. Go to evening schools, go to Volkshochschule or whatever, but you absolutely need to improve your German if you really want a chance at getting into this apprenticeship.

    What good is an application developper if he doesn’t understand the language of his customers? And how exactly are you going to write your documentations? People expect such documents to be in the local language … If they wanted everything in English they might as well go to one of the big American IT companies … and not to whoever was willing to hire you.

    “I’m in IT, I don’t nead to learn German … ” is simply not true. You still need to be able to interact with your customers (… the people who pay for your services and thus finance your salary … )

  5. While English is very important in IT, most the jobs you can do with an apprenticeship in IT outside of companies like Google, nVidia, etc. that have offices in Switzerland or even Zurich are purely German speaking. Your customers are German speaking, your suppliers are German speaking and your colleagues will be German speaking. So my suggestion would be to really focus on getting on board with German. While hard, this is your key factor.

  6. Yeah German is essential. It is a very important skill that you need for communicating with stakeholders andunderstanding the needs of the users. It is necessary to partake in the office culture and society as a whole. English isn’t even an official language, if that shows you the importance of the other languages here. You have to learn german if you want to get an apprenticeship here.

  7. I see a lot of comments saying German is essential. While that is true, I would say if you have around a B2 level, you are good. I got my apprenticeship after being in Switzerland for about 3 years, and after that I landed a IT support job in an insurance company. Both were/are purely english speaking positions, with very few german interactions.

    My advice is, apply to international companies where German is a plus, not a must. Also, work on your resume.

    Which positions are you looking into? What field do you want to go to?

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