by Samuel Jaberg in Moutier, swissinfo.ch
October 17, 2013 – 11:00

Seduced by adverts and special offers, Swiss youngsters are increasingly getting caught in debt traps. But the cantons appear to be taking the bull by the horns and targeting the problem with prevention courses in schools.
Speaking to a class of second-year apprentices at the Centre for Professional Training in Moutier, canton Bern, Karim Bortolussi reveals some startling figures.

“One in five young people are confronted by financial difficulties and more than 80% of those who use our services have racked up their first debt by the age of 25,” explains the social worker from the Bern-Jura Protestant Social Centre (CSP).

Today’s group consists of future mechanics and restaurant managers aged between 17-25. Financed by canton Bern, the prevention course focuses on giving practical advice: setting a budget, looking at how health insurance, taxes and different contracts work (mobile phones, gym, leasing schemes), the cost of loans and the pitfalls of credit cards and client loyalty schemes.

It also covers how easy it is to fall into the spiral of debt and how hard it is to escape.

“Never take out a loan to pay off another,” warns Bortolussi.
Selling a dream

In the class it soon becomes clear who the students are who prize material goods over financial cautiousness.

“Leasing enables you to buy a new car and pay for it later,” says one young man.

But Bortolussi answers: “With a leasing they are selling you a dream. It’s better to buy a car with a loan – at least it will belong to you and you can sell it later if you get into financial trouble. But obviously it’s always preferable to buy something with cash, which is real.”

Jacques Stämpfli, a teacher of general culture, is impressed by the course content which is “delivered without judgement or moral discourse”. Stämpfli says the apprentices lead busy and intense lives, like many students.

“But several of them put too much emphasis on appearance, on having the latest mobile phone or nice car. And commercial enticements are more and more common,” he adds.

Leaving the family nest and entering the world of employment can sometimes be tricky. And gaining an apprentice certificate is not always synonymous with earning a high salary. According to a recent study by Geneva University’s Employment Observatory, 10% of the workforce who have benefitted from an apprenticeship earn monthly salaries of less than CHF3,989 ($4,300) before tax, defined by the Federal Statistics Office as the low salary threshold.

“Young adults often have a tendency to overestimate their revenue. At the same time, publicity gives them the impression that everything is affordable,” says Bortolussi.

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