Info

Path2Work offers free job search support for refugees in Switzerland. Path2Work gives job seekers access to a large database of vacancies provided by our partner x28. We generate occupation recommendations based on a tailored algorithm. We also aim to support refugee job seekers in other ways: Users can complete a language test in English, French, German or Italian, receive information about how to write an application and will be directly recommended to employers with suitable vacancies.

Even years after arriving in Switzerland, many refugees struggle to find suitable jobs. At the same time, the Swiss economy, like many other advanced economies, is suffering from a labor shortage across all skill levels. The Path2Work team wants to better understand the reasons why many refugees are without jobs and has developed a tool to support their job search: Path2Work supports refugee job seekers through occupation recommendations, language tests and application support.

In March 2025, we will invite a first group of refugees of working age to use Path2Work. Access will then be gradually extended in 3 further waves, each 6 months apart, to all refugees with S, B or F status by September 2026. The assignment of a person to an invitation wave will be randomized. This ensures fairness and allows for a robust evaluation of the effectiveness of Path2Work. For this reason, we are unable to send out invitations on demand at this time and ask for your understanding.

The evaluation phase, during which the effectiveness of Path2Work will be scientifically investigated, will last from March 2025 to approximately March 2027. During this time, the project will be transferred to a non-profit organization to ensure sustainable regular operation after the evaluation phase.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Lausanne are conducting a scientific analysis of the effectiveness of Path2Work. The aim of the study is twofold: To understand why refugees often have difficulties in finding work and whether Path2Work can help to solve this problem. A first interim report on Path2Work is planned for the end of 2025. The first scientifically robust results are expected at the end of the evaluation phase (spring 2027). The study has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of ETH Zurich (Project 24 ETHICS-419) and HEC University of Lausanne (HEC-67af24063bf65). If you would like to be informed about the study's results, please subscribe to our mailing list at path2work.ethz.ch/contact/infolist.

Personal data on the platform is stored on secure servers and can only be accessed by the platform operators (Decision Science Lab ETH Zurich), not by the researchers who evaluate Path2Work. These researchers do not have access to personally identifiable data, but analyze all platform data and register data from the State Secretariat for Migration in pseudonymized form in accordance with corresponding data contracts. All users of the platform are informed about the use of their data.

The project is funded by the participating research groups, with financial support from the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), as well as in-kind support from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). The project also receives organizational and content support from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the UNHCR Switzerland. The company X28 provides access to the largest Swiss job database.

Path2Work is aimed specifically at people with a refugee background and contains tailored services that can support this target group in their job search. These include, for example, digital careers advice based on an online assessment and targeted application support. The RAV's job platform Job Room is aimed at all jobseekers in Switzerland and does not focus on the specific needs of people with a refugee background. We recommend that Path2Work users also use RAV services such as Job Room in order to increase their chances of a successful job search.

In addition to the invitation letter, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) will send you up to two reminder letters with your personal QR code. The easiest thing to do is to wait until you receive a reminder letter. If you have lost the invitation letter and the two reminders, you can contact the Path2Work Support Center (path2work@ethz.ch). They can arrange for the SEM to resend you a QR code.

Access to Path2Work is by personal invitation in four waves. If your friend already has access and you do not, this means that you can only be invited to Path2Work at a later date. We regret this necessary inconvenience (see also 'Who can use Path2Work?').

No. We do not report to any authority whether you use Path2Work or not, and we do not share any Path2Work usage data. The use of Path2Work is completely voluntary and does not influence official decisions (e.g. residence status, job placement).

An integral part of the Path2Work project is that we contact employers with suitable vacancies directly by email. In the email you will receive a link to the public profiles of platform users that we think are suitable and that you can contact for an interview or an application. If you are interested in this offer, you can register here (path2work.ethz.ch/contact/company).

Path2Work offers you very low-threshold access to a large and novel labor pool in Switzerland. We support you in networking and provide information to simplify the process of employing refugees in your company.

The emails you receive from us with candidate suggestions include contact information. Independent searching of public profiles on the platform is not possible during the evaluation phase.

In principle, all people with status B, F or S aged between 18 and 64 who have lived in Switzerland for a maximum of 7 years are invited to participate in Path2Work. At the end of January 2025, there were approximately 72,989 people in Switzerland, including 17,069 with status B, 14,242 with status F and 41,678 with status S. These people will be invited to use Path2Work in four equal waves (March 2025, September 2025, March 2026 and September 2026). The corresponding figures for each canton are derived by analogy from the number of eligible invitees per canton in January 2025.

Yes, if you would like to get an idea of the platform so that you can better advise your clients, please contact us at path2work.ethz.ch/contact/authority. We can then provide you with a token for an advisor account.

While Path2Work can be used independently, we welcome you to assist your clients in using the platform. Please note, however, that users should not share their login details directly with you. To avoid falsification, your client should complete the skills profile or language certificate without outside help.

With an advisor account, you can generally use the Path2Work search function. However, it is currently not possible to access your client's individual skills profile from your advisor account. This is used to generate personalized job and search suggestions. Therefore, we recommend you ask your client to provide you with these job suggestions.

Both the Path2work platform and the Jobmate application aim to match companies with suitable candidates for advertised positions. Both services are aimed at refugees who have acquired language skills and show professional potential for the Swiss labor market. Path2Work is a job platform that job seekers can use independently. Jobmate, on the other hand, is a digital platform that supports job coaches in finding suitable jobs for their clients.