75,000 teenagers just swapped school notebooks for work boots, aprons, or computer keyboards. And guess what? These rookies in the professional world are… happy. Yes, really. A study shows that 90% of them find meaning in what they do. Ninety percent! There are senior executives pulling in 200k a year who can’t say the same. These kids are proud of their jobs, they feel responsible, competent. In short, at 16 they’ve already figured out what some people spend a lifetime chasing.
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in the magical world of apprenticeships. 61% report stress and mental health issues. Welcome to the club, kids! Stress is basically the new common cold of the 21st century: everyone gets it, nobody really knows how to cure it, and we all pretend it’ll go away with a cup of herbal tea. Except here, we’re talking about teenagers who are simultaneously discovering the joys of 6 a.m. alarms, workplace hierarchies, and the fact that no, Instagram is not a recognized professional skill.
Here’s the real twist: a quarter of these contracts fall apart. “Premature termination,” as they politely call it. Young people ditch their apprenticeships like swiping left on Tinder: “Turns out plumbing isn’t really my thing.” And you know what? Maybe that’s the real intelligence. Instead of stubbornly sticking to a path that doesn’t fit them—like those law students grinding out a master’s degree just because, while secretly dreaming of opening a bakery—they pivot, reroute, recalculate. The result: 88% still end up with a diploma in hand five years later. Universities, with their overcrowded lecture halls and sky-high dropout rates, can eat their heart out.
The Swiss system gets something fundamental: at 16, you’re allowed to mess up. More than that—you’re almost expected to stumble around. While other countries keep their youth in an academic bubble until 25 before throwing them into the deep end (spoiler: most sink), here they’re taught to swim right away. With floaties, sure, but in the real pool. And if some swallow a bit of water at first, at least they learn whether they prefer freestyle or butterfly. That’s pragmatism: accepting that the shortest path isn’t always a straight line, and that sometimes, taking the wrong road is how you find the right one.
Have a good week,
M. Hantale 🧀
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