Unskilled Jobs Switzerland

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
I had noticed a few times on the forum that people had been looking for work but didnt have the relevant qualifications or experience which is required for Switzerland.

I have been in this situation when I came here, 6 years ago i started work in a pub part time After a few months I was made full time manager where I absolved the liquor license course allowing me to start my own business in 2010.

I have recently been looking for a change, maybe part time somewhere, to get me out the pub once in a while and into a different working atmosphere. Last year i worked a month at the airport as a baggage handler for Swissport. Heavy work but as it was part time, I had no problems with it. The reason I left in the second month is because they scheduled me for shifts which were interfering with my shifts in the pub (although we had come to an agreement that I would only work early mornings)

I opened this thread so that people looking for work who dont have a university degree or any useful experience can refer to for ideas on where to start looking for work, or even short courses they can absolve to allow them to apply for certain jobs.

These jobs are unskilled jobs and a work permit will only be granted to EU citizens. Unfortunately, non-EU citizens will have a much harder (mostly impossible) process in finding work in the unskilled market without the help of a marriage to an EU citizen.

Please continue to add to the list below;

Pub/Bar/Restaurant : Requires mostly basic German

Airport Baggage handler: Basic German

Taxi Driver: Requires taxi License and good German

Forklift driver: Requires forklift license and basic German(most also require logitics experience)

Delivery driver/chauffeur: Require basic German (and certain jobs require additional license)

Cinema ticket counter: Requires high level German

Steward/Stewardess: Require good language and Swimming skills, as well as supplied courses

2
Perhaps you could add to your post whether it is possible to get a permit to work in these jobs, based on where you come from? I find it hard to believe that a non-EU person will get a permit to work in these type of jobs.

I could be wrong though...

3
You are correct, i will edit the above

4
Mc Donald's and the like might also be a good starting point given that you're EU resident. They don't require diplomas and you can also become a manager if you're good. Know of someone you became a manager within a short time. As they also have shifts you still have time to take a German class or look for another job. I worked there during my studies and liked it (and still like to eat there once in a while )

5
I was kind of including that in the restaurant section, but good point nonetheless. I also heard that Starbucks has a great motivation scheme allowing you to mve up the ranks really quickly if you apply yourself

6
Interesting, I came 3 years ago (not EU) to Zurich and while my husband (swiss) finish his studies. I am working as a full time nanny, I love children and the payment is descent to manage our budget but Next year I want to start studying in a fachoschule in winterthur ( my husband will be by then out of uni) and they require one year of experience in an office, so I am wondering how can I get an office job without German and being "unskilled". If you know how to point me in the rigth direction please let me know.

Thanks,

C.

7
may I ask why you never considered learning German? It is difficult enough finding an office job withouth any skills in this area, and if you don't even speak basic German chances are even lower (it is even difficult for skilled German speaking people to find an office job nowadays)

8
Just wondering what would you suggest be the best job for me, I am in construction managment but would not mind getting my hands dirty in Switzerland as long as the pay is reasonable. I am a builder with a carpentry trade as well, I work as a site foreman on projects valued between 1 and 20 million (value of work carried out). Chances of getting that sort of work in Switzerland are probably zero because local regulations, construction methods and excellent communication skills are vital in this type of work. My german is basic, though I would put in a lot of effort to improve it if I was living in Switzerland.

9
Do you have an EU passport, or are you married to a Swiss person, or to an EU person living in Switzerland? If not, chances are very very slim to zero, as you would require an employer to sponsor your application (including proof that there is no-one in Switzerland or the EU who could do your job).

10
You don't need one year experience of working in office to be able to apply for a study in Fachhochschule. One year as nanny is also accepted. Therefore, just ask the family you are working for for a reference letter, then you'll be fine. I've been there.

11
A few months ago, I was ringing around construction companies about the possibility of finding work for a young, strong, English speaking lad, with experience in this type of work, willing to learn German.

It seemed that also "labourer" work, went to friends of friends.

The thing that gets you a job, is persistence. And attitude.

You have nothing to lose by trying and trying, and trying again.

Except a helluvalot of energy(!) And motivation.

Someone to lean on helps in this instance, to build you up again. Thanks mum

Reading the local paper, there are a number of non-university type jobs out there, but you will be up against a lot of Swiss to get them.

Nothing is impossible, just some things cost a lot of time and energy.

12
I'm in the same boat. Did 2 years of const management at uni before I met the Swiss miss. Came over here 4 years ago and now I'm having to do a 'Maurer' (bricklayer) apprenticeship for in order to move up the ranks. Our trade certificates back home aren't recognised here. However the apprenticeship for adults runs for just 18 - 24 months instead of 36 months. (of course you must have at least 4 years experience)

The typical rankings here are Maurer (bricklayer/formworker) then Vorarbeiter (supervisor) then Polier (site foreman) then Bauführer (Construction manager) or Bauleiter (much the same as const' manager but different). One is more with costing and the other is more with the architects...

Level B1 German is a minimum plus all the construction terminology. Italian would also be of great benefit as most of the workers are Portuguese and Balkans who speak very little German but good Italian.

The good thing is though as an experienced construction labourer (Bauarbeiter) you earn pretty good coin working temporary, a bit less than what I was on back home, but from March/ April through to Nov/Dec can see you taking home 1500 chf a week if you're getting good hours. I would recommend doing this for 12 months before starting the apprenticeship.

I'm on full time now and unfortunately earn a lot less even with the holidays calculated in. It's because they pay me now as a labourer without experience. However I plan to do the crane driver course very soon which will see me earning good coin again by the end of the year. Luckily the wife has a good job...

On another note, I worked my first 2 years here as a removalist (Umzugsman) which was good as I couldn't even count to 10 in German and helped me to put into practice what I was learning in school. Don't expect any of the co-workers to speak english though. It also helped to get the hang of Swiss German. For the removalist work you just need a healthy back and a good working attitude. Car and/or truck license is also a big benifit. Also handy in learning your way around and driving on the 'wrong' side of the road....

13
What exactly is level B1?

Instead of going to uni I opted to work and study (wasted two years doing hsc and then ended up at tafe), later on luckily it turned out that there was shortage of site managment with hands on experience while carpentry background was pretty much paramount. I am just wondering is it hard to find full time work with a reputable company? I am currently on $ 1400 a week + car + phone, that is after tax and super with everything else included (4 weeks holiday, 2 weeks sick, flexi days) in a company that has work for next few years. My hours are usually from seven till around four monday to friday plus I have to work every second saturday but only till one. What sort of hours do they usually work in Switzerland? How much does an average dogman/rigger make after all deductions? Is carpentry a valuable trade in Switzerland?

Thank you.

@ tom tulpe

I have a Swiss wife. Last time I was there I got the drivers licence and the ausweis (i think it was a C). Licence was easy to get but the ausweis was a pain, maybe because I'm from Aus everything seemed complicated and unnecessary. To be honest I have never been to the local council in Aus while in Switzerland the council seemed like the center of everything, another thing that I found odd is that everytime I went there I had to pay for something. We traveled around Europe and spent time with her family, that lasted number of months. Thats where I picked up some basics, I enroled in Migro language school but did not attend regularly. We are thinking about changing the scenery so Switzerland has come up in our options. Sydney is a great city but it is becoming like a rat race with very high property prices for decent locations.

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B1 is a level of german proficiency

A0 is someone who knows no german at all

A1 Knows a few of the basics

A2 Just completed it, you have to understand the grammer and be able to write a 50 word note or letter

B1 Once you finish it, you have the vocab and writing ability of an average 10-12 year old (and I mean average)

B2 You are the at the level of a basic school leaver, good enough for face to face contact with clients

C1 Now you are at the level of someone who can enter university

C2 You can teach Deutsche at a professional level

I am doing B1 at the moment, with my eyes set on B2, which is a 6 month course 3 days a week...

15
Thank you for the explanation. Looks like B2 is the minimum one should aim for.

16
I just wanted to add a little to this thread, something that I did only last week was to go to the Zurich airport website and look up all the shops, cafes and restaurants. Then went to their websites and looked for job openings and applied to any that I thought I could reasonably do.

This worked really well for me although it was time consuming (I don't have a job so that was OK!)

I just wanted to suggest this to others as it really helped me, I've actually had interviews this week and more to come.

My German is not fluent by the way but it was important with these jobs to have German.

17
am a rural outdoor worker,spcialising in drystone walls,would love to get the hang of putting the mountain house stone roofs together along with all the otherparts of the mountain village constructions that involve stone work,is this justa pipe dream i was recently near dagro doing some stone steps . . .

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.... did you get the job ?

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Yes I did get a job, OK so it's not my dream job or something I want for a career but it's a job, for now it's just great to have work!

20
Planning on moving to Switzerland in around 6 weeks and I'm struggling to find work at the moment. MKKara's idea looks like a very good one to try, and I think I'll have a look at doing it in a few weeks time.

Also, thanks for the initial post Tony, while I had an idea of where I'd likely have to look for work, this has confirmed what I was thinking, in terms of working in hospitality anyway.