E-commerce specialist
with Federal Certificate

There are two ways of registering for the final federal examination:

Condition 1 -> CFC in the commercial field or equivalent

• CFC for retail manager, commercial employee, media specialist, IT specialist, customer relations specialist, or equivalent qualification
• + at least 2 years professional experience in e-commerce

Condition 2 -> CFC outside the commercial sector

• CFC in another field (craft, technical, etc.) or equivalent qualification
• + at least 3 years professional experience in e-commerce

Mandatory condition for all: succeed in 7 module exams of the preparatory course before registering for the final exam.

Recognised e-commerce experience includes: running an online shop, category management, e-commerce logistics, digital marketing, IT development related to e-commerce, selling on marketplaces or social networks, working for an e-commerce service provider.

This course is aimed at working professionals who want to formalise, deepen and certify their skills in digital commerce. It is particularly suitable for :

• Employees of an e-commerce, digital marketing, logistics or category management department
• Managers or operators of online shops (B2C, B2B, D2C, marketplace)
• Self-employed people working in online sales or services for e-traders
• Professionals from sales, communications or IT wishing to specialise
• Anyone with a CFC or equivalent with 2 to 3 years' e-commerce experience

The Federal Professional Examination for E-Commerce Specialists takes place at the following locations once a year, in end of summer, typically between August and September. It is organised by Handelsverband.swiss (Swiss Trade Association), the official body responsible for this federal examination.

You must register for the exam before the end of March of the year in question, subject to confirmation by the examination board. The tests are held in designated Swiss examination centres, These are divided according to the country's language regions: German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. The language of the exam corresponds to that of the candidate's region.

The examination fees are approximately CHF 1,900. and are invoiced directly by the examination board, independently of the training fees. It is important to remember that in order to register for the final federal examination, candidates must have passed the 7 module exams preparatory training beforehand.

This course can be fully customised (content, format, language). Contact us for a free quote.

The course is priced at CHF 9,900.00, excluding federal examination fees.

The good news is that the Confederation can reimburse up to 50 % of your training costs. Since 2018, the Confederation has reimbursed 50 % of the costs of courses preparing for a federal certificate, up to a maximum of CHF 9,500, provided that the candidate sits the federal examination after the course. Entitlement to the subsidy is independent of the examination result. 

In concrete terms, for a course costing CHF 12,900, you can receive a reimbursement of CHF 4 950.00, bringing your net investment to CHF 4 950.00.

Qualifying conditions:

• Attend a course on the SEFRI list of preparatory courses, pay the course fees yourself and be legally resident in Switzerland at the time of taking the exam.
• The grant application is submitted after passing the federal examination, by submitting invoices and proof of payment via the SEFRI online portal.

For more information on the federal grant:  here.

You should also bear in mind that the price of the exam is not included in the preparation. It depends on the examination centre, and costs around CHF 2,000.

The final federal examination consists of four complementary parts, which assess both the candidate's theoretical knowledge and practical skills in their professional field.

The part one consists of writing a personal development report, prepared in advance of the exam. Candidates analyse a real-life professional situation in the e-commerce sector, demonstrating their ability to identify the issues, propose solutions and measure the results obtained.

The part two takes the form of a oral technical interview on this report. The panel of experts looks in depth at the key points of the document, questions the choices made and assesses the candidate's mastery of the subjects covered.

The PART THREE is a analysis with oral presentation. Candidates are given an e-commerce case study on the day of the exam, which they must analyse and present to the jury, demonstrating their strategic and operational thinking.

The fourth and final part is made up of mini-cases and critical incidents. Candidates respond to practical scenarios from everyday e-commerce life, testing their responsiveness, professional judgement and ability to manage real-life situations.

During the course 7 module exams (A to G) take place face-to-face at the end of each module. Successful completion of these modules is a prerequisite for the final federal examination.