Executive assistant
with federal diploma / Executive assistant
with federal diploma

The conditions are set by SEC Suisse and SEFRI.

Track A: 3 years' experience in the field, after one of these titles:

• CFC for commercial employees
• Gymnasium, specialised or vocational baccalaureate
• Or equivalent qualification

Track B: 4 years' experience in the field, after one of these titles:

• CFC from another VET programme of at least 3 years' duration
• AFP office assistant
• Or equivalent qualification

Additional conditions:

• Personal portfolio submitted and assessed «successful» before registering for the exam
• Experience at minimum 80 % of the activity rate
• Level B2 in a 2nd official language (German, Italian) or English required for certain tests

This course is aimed at anyone working or wishing to work as an executive assistant, executive secretary or administrative manager in a company or government department. It is particularly suited to the following profiles:

• Commercial employees or administrative assistants wishing to progress to a role with greater responsibility
• People already working as executive assistants who want to validate their skills with a federally-recognised qualification
• Anyone working in secretarial, administrative or team coordination roles
• Candidates who are in employment, the course is entirely designed to be taken in parallel with a professional activity.

The exam is held once a year, generally in October, in two Swiss cities: the written tests at Zurich and oral tests at Neuchâtel.

Registration opens each year in February and close in April.

Exact dates and registration details are published on examen.ch, the official website of the SEC Suisse.

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

The course is priced at CHF 10 900., 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 practical terms, for a course costing CHF 10,900, you can receive a reimbursement of CHF 5 450.00, bringing your net investment to CHF 5 450.00.

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 examination is organised once a year by SEC Switzerland and consists of 5 tests.

3 written tests, This is done through practical case studies and operational simulations:

• Management assistance and department leadership
• Information management
• Managing employees and personnel matters

2 oral tests in front of a panel of experts:

• Presenting and arguing a complex professional situation
• In-depth interview focusing on self-management and professional posture

1 essential prerequisite: the personal portfolio :

• Structured skills assessment, carried out in accordance with official SEC guidelines
• Must be submitted and assessed «successful» approximately 5 months before the exam
• Without this validated document, registration for the exam is not possible.