A highly qualified and productive workforce

Skills for all disciplines

Nothing better exemplifies why Switzerland punches well above its weight on the international stage than the GREATER GENEVA BERNE area (GGBa). With its dynamic, knowledge-based economy, the GGBa has long been a magnet for all high value-added sectors, thanks to an enviable skills base that rises to the industrial challenges placed on it.

The GGBa’s stand-out human resources include:

• Strong work ethic and low operational risk; strikes are very rare;
• Multilingual, flexible and highly educated workforce;
• Longer working hours, shorter holidays and inspirational work setting.

The GGBa’s skilled workforce comes from an unparalleled concentration of world-class cantonal and supra-cantonal universities, R&D facilities and technical institutes of excellence. These resources, flourishing in rock-solid socio-economic conditions, also attract major multinationals and small and medium-sized startup or spin-off enterprises which are keen to pursue collaborative synergies.

Workforce motivation

The GGBa’s high productivity is indicative of a wider public vote not to reduce the working week. Indeed, longer working hours (40-45) and shorter vacation entitlements (4-5 weeks) contribute to better results than in neighbouring countries of the European Union. Amid sumptuous mountain and lake views, absenteeism is low and industrial action is almost unheard of. Labor laws within the GBBa resemble those in the USA, offering far more flexibility than in many countries in the region and facilitating rapid growth.

• According to many international comparisons, Swiss workers are the most motivated in the world.
• Workforce expertise ranks among the highest in Europe, and Switzerland has more patents per capita than any other country.
• Labor relations are ranked among the least confrontational worldwide.

Language skills

Almost without exception, GBBa executives are multilingual, and the use of English at work is standard for nearly half of top management. Much of the GBBa is bilingual in French and German, and most Swiss people in the GGBa also speak at least one other foreign tongue, with English and Italian among the most common. Companies choosing the GGBa as their base can be sure that their workforce will speak their clients’ language.

Lower labor costs and moderate taxes

Though wages are higher, overall labor costs in the GGBa are significantly lower than in comparable economic areas. This is because benefits, ancillary wage costs and social charges are less onerous than in most other European countries.

Personal taxation compares very favourably with other developed countries. The annual global tax rate for gross salaries of SFr 150,000 - 250,000 is between 20% and 35%, well below the European average of 40%.