CV for Apprentices: Example and Template
This is what a convincing CV for an apprenticeship or as an apprentice within a company looks like - with taster apprenticeships, school grades and learning documentation instead of long professional experience.
Currently 150 open Apprentice positions in Switzerland, across 11 cantons, 8 of them from the last 7 days. CKW advertises the most.
CV example — two-page template
This template is editable straight away — or upload your existing CV and it is carried into this layout automatically.
Which qualifications and documents belong in an apprentice's CV?
As long as you don't yet have an EFZ or EBA, school reports, aptitude tests and taster apprenticeship assessments are your most important credentials.
In the education section, state the secondary school with its level (A/E, B/G or C) and the focus subjects, along with the year of completion. If you are already in an apprenticeship, spell out the qualification you are working towards: 'Commercial Employee EFZ, Trade sector, in training until July 2026' or 'Retail Assistant EBA'. Mention whether you are attending the Vocational Baccalaureate BM 1 alongside your apprenticeship, as this demonstrates resilience and is often specifically sought by companies.
Aptitude tests should be clearly visible in the CV, as many training companies require them: Multicheck, Basic-Check or the Stellwerk result from 8th grade. State the year and - if the result is good - the profile or percentage score. Course certificates such as First Aid, J+S Leader Course, Cambridge diploma or an IT user certificate also come across as more concrete than the statement 'good computer skills'.
In addition, include in your application dossier the report cards from the last two semesters, the test report, any taster apprenticeship assessments and two references with phone numbers, for example your class teacher and the taster apprenticeship supervisor. Ask these people for permission beforehand. If you are not a Swiss citizen, note your residence permit (for example C or B), so the company can assess the registration of the apprenticeship contract with the cantonal vocational education office.
How do I describe work experience when I have almost none yet?
Count taster apprenticeships, holiday jobs, club activities and school projects as experience, and describe them with figures and tasks.
Every taster apprenticeship is an entry: company, occupational field, duration in days, and what you actually did. Instead of 'gained insight into the profession', write 'three-day taster apprenticeship as Commercial Employee EFZ: sorted mail, entered 20 orders into the system, took customer enquiries by phone'. If you had several taster apprenticeships in the same occupational field, group them into one block to show a deliberate career choice.
Holiday jobs, newspaper delivery contracts, casual serving work, babysitting or helping in a family business all count as real work experience. Make them measurable: hours per week, number of children cared for, till reconciliations with a daily turnover of around CHF 4'500, number of guests served on a Saturday. Such details demonstrate punctuality, customer contact and a sense of responsibility - exactly the points that training supervisors check during job interviews.
If you are already in an apprenticeship and looking for a new placement or your first position after the qualification procedure, structure the apprenticeship by department or year. Mention the rotations, the grades from your workplace performance assessments (ALS), the inter-company courses, and the topic of your individual practical work (IPA) or process unit report. This allows HR staff to see within seconds which competencies from the training plan you actually master.
How long should the CV be, and is a photo needed?
One page is enough for apprenticeship applications; a current, professional photo is still customary and expected in Switzerland.
Keep the CV to one page, or a maximum of two if you already have two years of apprenticeship and several side jobs to show. Use a clear structure: personal details, short profile in two to three sentences, education, practical experience and taster apprenticeships, languages, IT skills, certificates, hobbies and references. Save the file as a PDF and name it clearly, for example 'CV_Lea_Buehler.pdf', and write the phone number in the format 079 000 00 00.
A colour application photo, placed in the top right corner, is standard for Swiss apprenticeship applications. Choose a portrait with a neutral background and neat clothing - no holiday, party or selfie photos. You may state your date of birth, place of residence and nationality or residence permit, as this is customary here and relevant for registering the apprenticeship contract. Leave out your AHV number, religion and marital status.
Adapt the CV slightly for each application: move the taster apprenticeship and school subjects that match the occupation to the front, and use the job title from the apprenticeship listing, for example from the cantonal apprenticeship register LENA. Mention hobbies related to teamwork, endurance or technical skills, and keep in mind that the apprentice's salary in the first year often ranges between CHF 700 and CHF 1'000 per month depending on the sector - salary questions belong in the interview, not in the CV.
Where Apprentice are hired in Switzerland
How the 150 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Luzern | 44 |
| Aargau | 11 |
| Basel-Stadt | 11 |
| Zug | 5 |
| Bern | 5 |
| St. Gallen | 5 |
| Graubünden | 3 |
| Solothurn | 1 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 136 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| German | 136 (135) |
| English | 9 (4) |
| French | 9 (4) |
| Mathematics | 1 (0) |
Who hires Apprentice in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| CKW | 57 |
| Viva Luzern AG | 12 |
| Endress+Hauser Group | 10 |
| Aargauische Kantonalbank | 10 |
| Swiss Federal Administration | 5 |
| SIGA | 4 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 148 |
| Teilzeit / partiel | 2 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Lea Bühler
Commercial Apprentice EFZ, 3rd year of apprenticeship (Trade sector) with Vocational Baccalaureate BM 1
Apprentice in the 3rd year of basic commercial training (Service and Administration, Trade sector) at a trading company with 120 employees. Currently working in the Finance and Accounting department: accounts payable invoices up to CHF 15'000, accounts receivable control with around 300 open items per month, and expense reports for 25 employees. The goal is to complete the qualification procedure in summer 2026 with the Vocational Baccalaureate, followed by a permanent position in financial administration.
What sets me apart
Learning documentation as evidence: Maintains complete learning documentation in time2learn: 36 documented competencies recorded, all semester reviews submitted on time without extension.
Affinity for figures in accounting: Posted around 250 accounts payable documents per month in Abacus during the 3rd year, with an error rate below 1 percent according to the supervisor's spot checks.
Customer contact by phone and at the counter: Handled 30 to 40 calls per day in customer service and resolved 90 percent of standard enquiries without forwarding them to case management.
Commitment alongside the apprenticeship: J+S youth sports leader at the local gymnastics club: has led a children's group of 18 for 2 years and organises 2 competition participations annually.
Key achievements
Relieved the reminder process. Independently ran the monthly dunning process for around 300 open items and reduced the average payment period for small customers from 41 to 34 days.
Digitised filing system. Scanned and renamed 4'800 supplier documents according to a new structure during the 2nd year, reducing the team's search time from around 5 minutes to under 1 minute per document.
Took over supervision of taster apprentices. Supervised 6 taster apprentices for 3 days each, prepared their daily schedules and passed on the assessment to the training supervisor.
Experience
Commercial Apprentice EFZ, 3rd year - Finance and Accounting — Nordwind Handels AG, Winterthur, 08/2025 - present
Trading company for household goods with 120 employees, rotation through 5 departments in accordance with the training ordinance.
- Posts around 250 accounts payable documents per month in Abacus, approval limit CHF 15'000
- Checks around 300 open accounts receivable items monthly and runs the 3-stage dunning process
- Reviews expense reports for 25 employees in accordance with internal expense regulations
- Achieved grades of 5.3 and 5.5 in the last 2 workplace performance assessments (ALS)
Commercial Apprentice EFZ, 1st and 2nd year - Customer Service and Purchasing — Nordwind Handels AG, Winterthur, 08/2023 - 07/2025
First two years of apprenticeship with 1 day of vocational school, 1 day of Vocational Baccalaureate BM 1 and 8 days of inter-company courses per year.
- Handled 30 to 40 phone calls and around 25 email enquiries per day in customer service
- Entered 60 to 80 orders per week into the ERP system and clarified delivery delays with 12 regular suppliers
- Digitised 4'800 supplier documents and documented the new filing process in 2 pages
- Passed all 4 inter-company competency assessments with an average of 5.2
Holiday job in Sales and Taster Apprenticeships — Sportwelt Fischer GmbH, Wallisellen, 2021 - 2023 (holidays and taster weeks)
Before starting the apprenticeship: 6 weeks of holiday work in retail and 3 taster apprenticeships in 2 occupational fields (commercial, retail).
- Worked 6 weeks at 20 hours each in sales and served up to 50 customers on Saturdays
- Carried out till reconciliations with an average daily turnover of around CHF 4'500
- Completed 3 taster apprenticeships with 3 written assessments, all recommending an apprenticeship placement
- Regularly babysat for 2 families over 2 years, around 8 hours per month
Education
Federal Certificate of Proficiency (EFZ), in progress, Commercial Employee, Service and Administration, Trade sector — Berufsfachschule Winterthur · 2023 - 2026
Vocational Baccalaureate BM 1, Specialisation Business and Services, Business type — Berufsmaturitätsschule Winterthur · 2023 - 2026
Secondary school, Level A, Focus on Mathematics and Business, final report grade 5.0 — Sekundarschule Talacker, Winterthur · 2020 - 2023
Multicheck Commercial/Trade, overall profile 82 percent (2022) · First Aid Course SVF, valid since 2023 · J+S Leader Course Children's Sport, Module 1 (2024) · Cambridge English B2 First (2025)
Common questions
- What language should I write my CV in as a Apprentice?
- 100% of the adverts are in German — write the CV in German unless the advert itself is in English.
- Where in Switzerland are Apprentice most in demand?
- Lucerne alone holds 29% of the openings, then Aargau and Basel-Stadt. If you live elsewhere, put your willingness to relocate in the profile.
- What language level do Apprentice adverts ask for?
- German in 100% of adverts that state a requirement, 99% of them at professional level. "Good knowledge" will not do — give A2 to C2.
- Are Apprentice roles offered full or part time?
- 99% full time, only 1% part time. If you need part time, say so early rather than leaving it open.
- Who hires Apprentice in Switzerland?
- Currently CKW, Viva Luzern AG, Endress+Hauser Group, among others. Their adverts are the best word list for your own CV.