I am looking to relocate from over the border French side to Swiss side. My daughter is 15. She's not overly academic, and I wondered if the Leherstellen program could be available to her, but she only speaks French and English with some German. Are there any programs in English?
Where are you thinking of moving exactly? From the context, I guess a German speaking region? (It is hard to imagine France to Swiss Romandy being too tough of a transition, but I don't have direct experience.) Switzerland varies quite a bit from region to region.
You can also potentially have her do a Lehrstelle in Biel or Fribourg. Would require a non-trivial commute.
An English speaking Lehrstelle is not out of the question. My OH sponsored a Lehrstelle for a student that spoke French & English from Neuchatel at his English speaking company in Baden, AG and it all worked fine. OH no longer works there, otherwise I'd look into it for you but it was at what is now General Electric.
To find a Lehrstelle, you and your daughter should be prepared to do all the legwork. Contact all the pharma and other global companies in Basel. Reach out to every English speaking company in the area and see if they would have something for her.
The major challenge might be finding an English speaking Lehrstelle that matches her area of interest, so you have your work cut out!
If she's already 15, she'd go into the last year of mandatory school or even be considered having finished mandatory school. There would be some help from the Kanton, but IDK if it would be enough for someone not very academically inclined to make up for her lack of German.
As others have suggested, looking for an apprenticeship in Jura would be an option. Every place along the S3 would be doable from Basel. Delémont, Bassecourt, St. Ursanne, Porrentruy. Don't know if she could already apply while still living abroad.
This a million times. 15 is a very tough time to move education system, find an apprenticeship (and it is very hard without personal local contacts) AND in a language you don't know. Does 'kid' have any idea of what s/he wants to find an apprenticeship in?
Why not contact the career counselor's office in the town you think you might be moving to? This is called Berufsberatung . Part of their mandate is to provide career counseling to kids who are looking for apprenticeships. They support kids through every step of the process and they would know immediately what could be available for your daughter. Their service is also (I think) free for kids, at least it is in Zürich and they seem to do an amazing job.
Additionally, I think you'll find a lot more from the Berufsberatung than from the school system. I think at your daughter's age, the public school system may no longer be obligated to take her (but you'd have to check this carefully).
She's having a tough time at school anyway. She would benefit better from a more vocational training. She does understand a lot of German but doesn't speak or write it so well.
Sorry to hear. But German language is very much part of success in a Lehre (edit for Tom- in a German speaking Kanton!)- both at work and on the school days and exams.
Moving near Basel, in the Jura, in a French speaking region, would help her through those difficult times better than anything else at this stage.