Vocational education systems play a central role for social participation in general and especially for immigrants, people with disadvantages or special educational needs. This is pointed out by the cross-national and comparative research on vocational education and training that has been established in European countries in recent decades (cf. Koch 1991). The high employment-oriented integrative power of vocational education in the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) is positively emphasized. At the same time, educational disadvantages and homogenization efforts persist along the categories of migration background, ability and impairment (cf. Kimmelmann et al. 2022). The commitment to increased inclusion orientation in general education schools and vocational education from the 1990s was confirmed by the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). VET research increasingly relies on a broad understanding of inclusion that takes into account all dimensions of learner diversity and addresses potential threats to educational participation (exclusion) (Barabasch, Scharnhorst & Leumann, 2016).
Entry into VET and the transition to employment is characterized by two dominant thresholds. At the first threshold, the vocational integration of young adults is supported with differentiated transition systems, adapted training formats, through partial qualifications as well as via accompanying measures. The transition system fulfills an important vocational integration role throughout German-speaking countries (Miesera et al. 2022). Nevertheless, differences between the countries can be seen above all in the establishment of vocational structures, formats and measures for dealing with diversity. Different frameworks are suspected to emerge from recontextualization processes in different places (nation, region, institution) (Mejeh & Powell, 2018). These considerations are the starting point for this article, which reflects on the scope of the findings regarding a counseling service offered at vocational schools in Switzerland. This is an offer that has been shown to be a successful form of dealing with exclusion risks in vocational education and training in German-speaking countries, but is still little institutionalized as a measure of Supported Education.
In Switzerland, measures of the transition system are called bridging offers. These offers not only have a vocationally integrating effect, but also extend the training period. About 20% of young people start their education delayed by one year (5% are without education) (Gomensoro & Meyer 2021). About a quarter of a cohort is in transition. Discontinuous educational trajectories affect a majority of young adults with social-emotional problems or with learning and performance difficulties. These factors are usually closely related to disadvantaging diversity characteristics, such as socio-cultural origin, gender, migration experience or impairment, and are empirically widely supported (Hofmann & Schellenberg 2019; Pool Maag 2016).
Rarely studied to date have been problems during training and measures to encourage learners to remain in training. Little is known about whether and how problem situations of young people change with entry into VET. Known is that in Switzerland 21% of learners in dual VET programs are affected by apprenticeship contract terminations. More than half of apprenticeship contract terminations (55%) occur in the first year of training and around 31% in the second (BFS 2021, 9). Overall, more than 40% of young people are in transition between the first and third year of training. The situation is similar in Germany (Beinke 2011). They are either looking for a follow-up vocational solution or an apprenticeship. The topic is currently gaining importance due to the ongoing shortage of skilled workers, increasing apprenticeship contract terminations and psychological stress among young people in the post-Corona period. The following question is examined: What specific problem situations do young people encounter during their apprenticeship, how can the target group be defined, and what is the need for counseling?

In order to afford the complexity of the object of investigation, the design combines qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and data evaluation in a mixed-methods approach (Mayring, 2007). In the first phase of the evaluation, the triangulated design was used to assess the implementation of the counseling service (Flick, 2008). Case-by-case data were collected both longitudinally (multiple counseling sessions) and cross-sectionally (assessment of the offer by the coaches, teachers and leaders involved, adolescents). This multi-perspective approach has become established in research when recording effects and interrelationships (Klawe, 2006). The principle is implemented in present research via the combination of self- and peer-assessments and interviews with learners and coaches. Counseling-related data were collected and documented by coaches on an ongoing basis during or after counseling sessions. The Data collection occurred over three school years. Different instruments were used and developed to address the specific questions of the surveys. In the first phase, online-based surveys were conducted among teachers, management staff/principals, and adolescents, as well as guideline-based focus interviews with the counseling staff and project management. The counseling work at the vocational schools was recorded through a counseling inventory with four parts: 1. case documentation (basic data on counseling cases), 2. documentation of the counseling process and accompaniments (multiple counseling sessions), 3. case-based counseling feedback by the coaches. In the second phase of the study, site comparisons of schools were made based on 1063 counseling cases. Accordingly, the scientific findings are to be interpreted on this cohort basis. The sample consists of four vocational schools of different sizes that train different apprenticeships. The following benchmarks for student numbers guided the conception of the instruments and the design: BZLT: 1160 students (apprenticeships: mechanical engineering, logistics, recycling); BZZ: 1400 students (apprenticeships: Retail trade, commercial apprenticeship, informatics/mediamatics, care specialist, technology); GBW: 2500 students (apprenticeships: construction professions, wood professions, gardener, car professions, electrical professions); BFS: 4000 students (apprenticeships: Health professions (nurse, dental assistant), retail trade, care specialist).

The analyses show that the counseling was already actively used in the schools in the first year of the project and was able to establish itself locally. The service is considered to be effective and is widely accepted by the teachers and administrators involved, as well as by the students who receive counseling and the counselors. The use of counseling during school hours has proven itself. Most of the consultations are scheduled, but the offer is also used spontaneously. Despite the diversity of the locations (size of the school, training professions, campus, counseling office), there is a need for counseling at all schools. The counseling is used by almost the same number of females as males. Approximately 60% of the counseling requests are related to problems at work, 15% to school-related issues, and another 15% to private and family difficulties. 10% of the stresses are health-related and refer to physical and psychological impairments. Different stress profiles are evident at the schools. Male respondents report greater stress than female respondents. Reasons given sometimes include apprenticeship contract terminations and associated physical stress perceptions. Cases with multiple stresses were identified, often in connection with family conflicts, as well as challenges related to language and socio-cultural conditions. An above-average number of youth in the cohort already attending a bridge program and report diagnoses in the area of mental health impairments and developmental disabilities. In various cases, the coaches refer to the need for further clarification. Based on these initial findings, it is assumed that both target group-specific and target group-unspecific aspects influence the need for counseling. These and other assumptions are the subject of ongoing analyses. The findings will be reported in detail at the ECER, located in the international context and discussed along the lines of the topic of diversity and education.

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