Swiss Schools Abroad Tackle Teacher Shortage

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Efforts are afoot to make it easier for Swiss schools abroad to find and recruit Swiss-trained staff. A parliamentary initiative proposes standardising employment conditions, to make working abroad more attractive for Swiss teachers. This content was published on September 3, 2026 - 09:00 7 minutes

As a correspondent at the Federal Palace for SWI swissinfo, I report on federal politics for the Swiss Abroad. After studying at the Academy of Journalism and Media at the University of Neuchâtel, my career path initially took me to various regional media, working in the editorial offices of Journal du Jura, Canal 3 and Radio Jura bernois. Since 2015, I have been working in the multilingual editorial department of SWI swissinfo, where I continue to practise my profession with passion.

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The recruitment challenges facing the 17 Swiss schools abroad are now under discussion in the Swiss federal parliament.

To ensure the quality of education, these schools must by law employ a certain number of teachers with Swiss qualifications. In total, some 250 Swiss teachers work in the different schools, which are scattered across three continents. The schools receive Swiss government subsidies to help them fund some of the positions.

For several years, finding Swiss-trained teachers who are ready and willing to work abroad has been a struggle, and some schools have been unable to meet the required quota. In part, this is a consequence of the teacher shortage that has plagued Switzerland itself for several years, despite a recent uptick in some cantons.

However, Swiss schools abroad also face their own, specific challenges.“The teachers follow the Swiss curriculum, while immersing themselves in a foreign culture. This requires much more than just a taste for adventure. They need to have sound teaching skills, a strong capacity to adapt and good psychological resilience,” says Serge Künzler, director of educationsuisse, the umbrella organisation that oversees the schools.

The dearth of candidates with Swiss qualifications means some schools have had to recruit teachers of other nationalities. Educationsuisse is now working hard to buck this trend. The body has taken steps to raise its profile, build its network and trial new approaches, such as job speed-dating events, where candidates can speak directly with headteachers.

Better employment conditions

A political solution is also under study. The Senates committee for science, education and culture has launched a parliamentary initiativeExternal link aimed at harmonising employment conditions for Swiss staff in Swiss schools abroad. It proposes amending the law such that teachers are hired by educationsuisse and then seconded to the various schools abroad.

Today, not all Swiss teachers abroad have the same status. Within Europe, they are already employed by educationsuisse. In the rest of the world, however, they are generally taken on by the schools themselves under a local contract.

International agreements and national laws thus give rise to considerable discrepancies in terms of social security, wages and taxation. To offset the differences between the Swiss system and the host country, the schools have adopted different employment models. In addition, educationsuisse provides administrative support to teachers working outside Europe, so that they can keep contributing to Swiss social insurance.

The parliamentary committee for science, education and culture now wants to standardise these practices in order to ensure equal treatment and facilitate recruitment. The initiative, which is open for consultation until November 1, has the backing of educationsuisse. If Swiss teachers are employed directly by the umbrella organisation, it will be easier for them to remain within the Swiss social insurance scheme. A uniform framework will also encourage mobility between schools.

>>Read our article on teaching democratic values in Swiss schools abroad:

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