Trajectories of Liberalization in Collective Governance: The Swiss Case of Polite Employer Domination and Embedded Flexibilization

Increasing liberalization challenges countries to adapt their training systems. Collective skill formation systems, systems with dual vocational apprenticeship training, have developed different trajectories of change. Germany’s training system is ever more influenced by large employers (segmentalism) while in Denmark the state agencies are managing increased flexibility in training through embedded flexibilization. In this context, one key example discussed in the literature is the introduction of short-track dual training programs. Switzerland, another typical collective skill formation country, also introduced short-tracks in the early 2000s but has not yet been analysed through the lens of liberalization trajectories. Our institutional analysis finds that Swiss short-tracks represent a case of embedded flexibilization – usually associated with Scandinavian countries. However, in contrast to Denmark, the Swiss variation is much more employer-friendly. Our process tracing reveals that policy makers in Switzerland used layering in order to implement short-tracks that enhance social inclusion while maintaining a high level of employer engagement.