Why we are committed to education as a private company

August 24, 2023

The Swiss education system is considered one of the best in the world. Zurich Switzerland wants to make a valuable contribution to this and is committed to training, continuing education and lifelong learning in a variety of ways.

We have five good reasons for this:

1. Customer excellence needs competence

In the increasingly digitalized insurance industry, it's people who make the difference between a good customer experience and an excellent one. Customer excellence is a strategic focus for Zurich Switzerland. We can only achieve this with highly motivated and competent employees. This is why we promote lifelong learning, strengthen the transfer of knowledge between generations, and provide individual coaching to all interested employees. We know that professional and life experience are often more important than qualifications on paper: We also give career changers who are eager to learn a chance.

2. Attractive in the working world of the future

We want to attract the best talent in the market – and retain it in the long term. Our unique company culture helps us do this. At the same time, our employees expect us to enable them to develop professionally and personally throughout their entire working lives. We see diversity as an opportunity and therefore employ people from different age groups, with diverse backgrounds, personalities and qualifications.

3. A perspective for the next generation

We are investing in the #NextGen: As a major employer in Switzerland, we offer around 60 apprenticeships every year, in four different professions. We are proud that 80% of our apprenticeship graduates stay with us. By offering athlete apprenticeships, we support committed young athletes. We also offer attractive options for high school graduates. We also have a dedicated trainee program for university graduates and offer internships and work-study positions.

4. Committed to society

As a large company, we want to make a positive contribution to society: In cooperation with the Social Insurance Institution Zurich (SVA), we enable people with health impairments to re-enter the world of work, and together with Powercoders we open up career opportunities in IT for young refugees. Top sports talent can build a second career with us in the insurance sector. Various employee resource groups are involved in socially relevant issues, such as the Women's Innovation Network and the LGBTQ+ organization PrideZ.

5. Financial knowledge as a prerequisite for competent decisions

As one of the major financial service providers in Switzerland, financial topics are one of our core competencies. We are convinced that people need financial literacy to successfully shape their future. This is why we are strongly committed to financial education. For example, we want to inform the population about challenges and possible solutions in occupational pension provision through the "Fairplay Study", which has already been carried out several times in cooperation with the Sotomo research institute. We also communicate financial expertise through our cooperation with the influencer, Miss Finance, or through a variety of information events for our customers, for example, on the topic of retirement. Our employees benefit from our internal expertise as well, for example, with the "Financial Awareness Program" of the Women's Innovation Network.

Lifelong learning – what does that mean specifically?

Learning and continuing education largely take place in the workplace: Typically, a person learns 70% through their own practical experience in everyday work, and 20% through his or her professional environment, such as supervisors, mentors, or colleagues. Only 10% of learning takes place in the traditional way through continuing education. This is why it is very important to us to create a culture of curiosity, trial and error, and exchange in our day-to-day work. Zurich Switzerland therefore encourages, among other things, project collaboration, rotations and internal job changes, even between divisions. All employees are regularly asked to reflect on their current situation and shape their individual development. In addition, we offer a wide range of courses, seminars and eLearnings, run internal professional academies and cooperate with various external training institutions. About every two months, experts from various business units report on current developments in the Strategy Sharing Session, thus making corporate strategy tangible for employees.