50 years supporting VET

SFUVET celebrates its anniversary

A drummer plays drums with sticks decorated with musical notes
SFUVET/Tobias Hug, School of Applied Arts of St. Gallen

The Swiss Pedagogical Institute for Vocational Education (SPIVE) – SFUVET’s predecessor – was established in 1972. At the time, the main focus was on providing pedagogical training to vocational school teachers. In 1975, a second campus was opened in Lausanne and in 1991 a third one in Lugano. In 2007, SPIVE became the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) and was given a range of activities relating to both teaching and research. In 2021, SFIVET applied for institutional accreditation as a university of teacher education. This transformation process was completed in 2022, at which point SFIVET was renamed the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET). 

Recognised and celebrated 

In 2022, SFUVET’s fifty-year contribution to vocational education and training was recognised and celebrated. 

  • The first event was the jubilee symposium ‘SustainableSkills’, which took place at the Kursaal Bern on May 31. A highlight of the event was the awarding of the ‘Enterprize 2022’ to an innovative vocational education and training project. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin served as patron of the event. 
  • SFUVET marked its 50th anniversary by organising an exhibition at the 2022 SwissSkills competition (7–11 September 2022). The exhibit ‘At the heart of vocational education and training’ was shown for the first time in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. SFUVET also invited participants to take part in a panel discussion that focused on the need to strike the right balance between training and production in apprenticeships.  
  • In November, Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin visited the SFUVET campus in Zollikofen. After exchanging views with members of the SFUVET Board and the SFUVET Executive Committee, he thanked SFUVET’s employees for half a century of service to vocational education and training. 
  • On 29 November 2022, the publication ‘Didactics and Situations’ was presented to the public. In this jubilee collection, SFUVET teachers and researchers share their insights on didactic coherence in the design of vocational education and training. 


Finally, SFUVET gave itself a gift for its jubilee – in the form of a new website.