Swiss Alpine Farms Complain Of Staff Shortages

In mid-March, the Bauernzeitung newspaper wrote of an“Alpine alarm” in a report on the staffing situation on Alpine pastures. At first glance, it does not look so alarming: around 100 jobs were advertised on the Zalp portal in March, with the number of applications being roughly equal.

Asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency, Zalp employee and cattle herder Giorgio Hösli does not talk of an emergency situation. But, he says,“we have had a shortage of experienced and well-trained staff for many years”.

In order to fill all positions in the summer period from May, there would have to be a third more job applications than availabilities. According to Hösli, many job seekers are only partially available, have the wrong ideas about the job, drop out of work or have the wrong profile. The ability to“grit one's teeth” and persevere is not high on the list of competences for many applicants, who simply“want to go the Alps”, he says.

This content was published on Nov 17, 2023 The summer season is over for Alpine farmers, who have come down the mountains with their animals. For some, the hunt for a winter job now begins.