«Supporting inspiring and motivated young people is an important investment in our future. We are cultivating qualified specialists who are willing to take on further challenges at Sunrise UPC. At the same time, this helps us promote diversity, learning and innovation in the company and position ourselves as the preferred employer for young talent in the Swiss ICT industry», says André Krause, CEO of Sunrise UPC, adding: «With this initiative, we will once again boast the highest ratio of apprentices to full-time employees among Swiss corporations.»

Back in 2019, Sunrise was already training 143 apprentices, while UPC trained 28. This put Sunrise in the top spot among Swiss corporations[i]. The merged company Sunrise UPC now plans to continue on this path. By enabling young people to benefit from vocational training, Sunrise UPC is making an important economic and social contribution: The positions on offer are expected to grow significantly from today's 180 apprenticeships to around 250 by 2025. These will particularly focus on digital professions. In the summer of 2025, Sunrise UPC plans to provide a total of 90 apprenticeships in the areas of media & technology and IT, more than doubling the current number of positions. The goal is to continue to employ as many young talents as possible after they complete their apprenticeship. «Qualified ICT specialists are highly sought-after. That's why we're also offering long-term perspectives for motivated and ambitious trainees. In recent years, we were able to hire more than two thirds of all apprentices after they completed their program», says Felix Häberli, Head of Young Talents at Sunrise UPC.

200 apprenticeships starting in the summer of 2022

Expansion of the training initiative will kick off already this coming summer. Starting in August 2022, Sunrise UPC will create 20 new apprenticeships, offering a total of 200 apprenticeships throughout the company in the areas of IT, media & technology, retail, sales and customer dialog.

Sunrise UPC also supports young women who want to gain a foothold in the digital professions of IT and media & technology. Advancing gender equality in business is an important topic for Sunrise UPC. With this in mind, the company created «YouBelong!» in 2021 to promote an environment conducive to diversity, equality and inclusion (DE&I).

Sunrise UPC is also continuing its strong commitment to sports. Two young people are now starting an athlete's apprenticeship in the area of sales. The program will allow the athletes to keep prioritizing their training. The apprenticeship will be tailored to the needs of these elite athletes in the most flexible way possible. Furthermore, Sunrise UPC supports all its employees in balancing work and sports.

New year-long advanced program

On top of the training initiative, Sunrise UPC aims to prepare its apprentices for business and market needs in an even more targeted way. Following the first year of basic training with the vocational training center (Berufsbildungscenter), apprentices will join a year-long, in-depth program in which they can further develop their ICT expertise, particularly in the areas of digital and telecommunications technologies. In the third and fourth years of their apprenticeship, they will strengthen their acquired skills on the job in specific teams.

More information: www.sunrise.ch/youngtalents

Press Release (pdf)

[i]SonntagsZeitung from 25.08.2019: https://avenue.argusdatainsights.ch/Article/AvenueClip?artikelHash=bb09b4a8e2af4ff0ad08053b7eb20022_EAD7FC084EE2C3BF43E0EC5BE61C5CE4&artikelDateiId=225772895