Career with foresight
EducationThe Zurich financial centre is dynamic, innovative and globally connected. This is what you can expect to find in Zurich: a wide range of training, education and continuing education opportunities, an attractive market environment, and forward-looking career paths.
Land of talent
Front-runner
Switzerland has been at the helm of the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) for years. Switzerland scores top rankings by global comparison in several pillars and sub-pillars of the GTCI.
Stable foundation
The Swiss government works efficiently, the country enjoys legal stability and the economic markets continue to develop profitably.
Attract talent
As financial globalisation continues, Switzerland is able to attract the necessary professional talent and is committed to gender equality.
Professional and specialised knowledge
With the education system being of pivotal significance for the Swiss economy, knowledge is the highest worldwide.
Optimally prepared labour force
MultifacetedThe Zurich financial centre makes sure its future labour force is optimally prepared for the opportunities and challenges of the modern-day world of finance.
Skilled
Universities, universities of applied sciences and private companies offer wide-ranged and in-depth educational and advisory services for individuals and firms operating in the financial sector.
Innovative
Collaborations between educational institutions and finance companies accelerate the capacity to innovate at the Zurich financial center.
Connected
Partnerships and exchange programmes with international educational institutions and financial centres foster strong global connections.
Current
Zurich’s educational programmes and courses always take current developments and requirements of the financial sector into account, making sure to integrate technology and digitalisation.
Sustainable
The educational programmes integrate sustainable financial practices and are leading the way in new areas, including fintech and green tech.
Flexible
The broad spectrum of educational paths on offer at the Zurich financial centre adapt to changing market requirements and financial trends.
Hands-on
The Zurich financial centre offers platforms for sharing and exchanging knowledge between educational institutions, finance companies and other players in the industry.
Vocational apprenticeship
Banking apprenticeship
Anyone who decides to do a banking apprenticeship at the Zurich financial centre stands a good chance for a successful career. Why? Because an apprenticeship within a bank or an insurance company is varied, can be combined with a vocational baccalaureate and remains exciting in the long term thanks to the multifaceted vocational profile it offers.
- Vocational profile – multifaceted job, good salary and a wide range of further education opportunities.
- Vocational training – banks and insurance companies offer a commercial apprenticeship (KV) with a Federal VET (Vocational Education and Training) Diploma in combination with a vocational baccalaureate, vocational baccalaureate focus, or KV apprenticeship with Federal VET Diploma.
- Vocational baccalaureate – a vocational baccalaureate can be completed in parallel with a commercial apprenticeship, thus increasing one’s future career opportunities.
- Career – vocational baccalaureate graduates are well equipped and have excellent chances of direct employment.
More information – banklehre.ch
University (UZH – Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics)
The Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics encompasses approximately 4,900 students from 120 countries. A third of the students are female. The faculty has approximately 100 professors from 80 countries. They conduct research and teaching in four departments, three university research priorities, six competence centres and dozens of research centres.
Department of Economics
The Department of Economics is among the top three Economics schools in Europe and the undisputed number one on the European continent. This demonstrates the high quality and impact of its research. Its mission? To find answers: a total of 180 professors, students, pre-docs, post-docs and employees work together in the department.
More information : Department of Economics
Department of Business Administration
The Department of Business Administration at the University of Zurich is one of the leading research and teaching facilities in the German-speaking world. The department’s wide spectrum of business administration topics includes accounting, entrepreneurship, management, marketing, operations research, organisation and strategy. The Department offers cutting-edge study programmes leading to bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees.
More information: UZH Department of Business Administration
Department of Finance
The Department of Finance was founded in 1968 within the University of Zurich as the “Institut für schweizerisches Bankwesen” (Swiss Banking Institute). The department strives to achieve academic excellence and social relevance in research and teaching. With eighteen professorships and 160 employees, it is among the leading finance departments in Europe and is focused on banking and insurance, corporate finance, financial economics, quantitative finance and sustainable finance. The department promotes an interdisciplinary approach and maintains a lively exchange of knowledge with the finance industry and with society.
More information: Department of Finance
Department of Informatics
Founded in 1970, the Department of Informatics is part of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics of the University of Zurich. In administrative and spatial terms, the Department of Computational Linguistics is affiliated to the Department of Informatics. Twenty professors, thirty post-doctoral researchers and more than one hundred PhD students conduct research and teach within the department. They perform first-class research on forward-looking topics, including in the domains of people-centred computing, computing and economics and big-data analysis.
More information: Department of Informatics
ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)
Department of Banking, Finance, Insurance
The Department of Banking, Finance, Insurance provides teaching, research and consulting in the fields of financial theory, financial management, financial services and insurance on current topics such as banking regulations, wealth management, alternative investments and pensions. The strengths of the department include analysis and optimisation of value chains of financial service providers, financial consulting, insurance management, private equity for SMEs, funds of hedge funds, corporate finance and corporate banking, financial risk management, and financial and management accounting.
More information: Department of Banking, Finance, Insurance
University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration (HWZ)
With more than 2,500 students and approximately 800 practicing professionals serving as lecturers, HWZ is Switzerland’s largest university of applied sciences with exclusively part-time study courses in the field of economics. It offers a wide range of study courses leading to a bachelor’s or master’s degree, more than 100 diploma and certificate programmes, the opportunity to study for a doctorate, as well as customised company training courses.
It offers a wide range of study courses leading to a bachelor’s or master’s degree, more than 100 diploma and certificate programmes, the opportunity to study for a doctorate, as well as customised company training courses. HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration stands for an optimal balance between work, studies and private life.
More information: fh-hwz.ch
Swiss Finance Institute
Bachelor’s and master’s study programmes in banking & finance
Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) is dedicated to promoting cutting-edge research, continuing education, and knowledge exchange in the fields of banking and finance. SFI is among the most renowned of academic faculties, which includes a significant number of professors affiliated with SFI partner universities. Through this faculty, SFI contributes to the training of highly qualified master’s degree graduates specialised in banking and finance.
More information: Swiss Finance Institute
Swiss Sustainable Finance
Various courses in banking and finance
Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) is dedicated to promoting cutting-edge research, continuing education, and knowledge exchange in the fields of banking and finance. SFI is among the most renowned of academic faculties, which includes a significant number of professors affiliated with SFI partner universities. Through this faculty, SFI contributes to the training of highly qualified master’s degree graduates specialised in banking and finance.
More information: Swiss Sustainable Finance
Why the quality of education is so good in Zurich
Four reasonsZurich is an exciting financial hub where theory and practice become one, paving the way for an innovative and successful career in finance.
Education as a competitive advantage
The availability of well-qualified employees is one of the most important competitive factors of a business location. As the home of Switzerland’s largest university, the seat of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and featuring numerous universities of applied sciences and research centres, Zurich boasts an impressive range of educational programmes and opportunities of world renown.
Attractive starting opportunities
Zurich has consolidated its position as a leading centre for the insurance and reinsurance industry that includes some 22,000 specialists who take care of all aspects of the insurance business. Approximately one third of insurance companies in the country are based in Zurich, with the said industry contributing close to 4.5% to national value added. Due to its high per capita expenditure on insurances, Switzerland dominates this sector globally. Zurich is also a choice location for reinsurance companies, supported by first-rate research and highly qualified employees.
Lifelong continuing education
As well as hands-on research and top-level academic education, the availability of part-time education and continuing education courses contribute decisively to the success of the finance industry. Furthermore, financial institutions contribute –both directly and via industry associations– to vocational training & university study courses, to continuing education and to national cooperations and foundations.
Hands-on and innovative
Zurich’s high-quality educational offering constitutes the foundation for qualified employees who want to continue learning. The close proximity of industry and science is a guarantee for innovative strength and adaptability of Zurich as a successful financial centre. The financial centre is also key to sustainability, with sustainable business activities becoming increasingly more important for companies across all industries. This development is being driven by international sustainability goals, but also by changing customer needs. Due to its significance for the Swiss financial centre, the Zurich financial centre has a key role to play in this development. What is more, every second finance company sees sustainable finance as an opportunity to strengthen their reputation, and to retain and gain customers.
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