AI increasingly important: Is IMS training up to date?

In view of the radical technological change with Artificial Intelligence (AI), the question arises whether the education at the Informatics Secondary School (IMS) in the canton of Zurich is up to date.

This question also arises because the number of students at the IMS has decreased drastically in recent years, from 198 students in 2019 to 141 students in 2025. The number of registrations for the IMS exam has also decreased dramatically, from 198 in the 2024/2025 IMS exam year to 145 in the 2025/2026 exam year.

In the following article, we will specifically investigate the questions of how artificial intelligence is taught during IMS training and why there are fewer and fewer students at IMS and taking the IMS exam.

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Table of contents

• AI is becoming a daily work tool
   
• AI in the IMS curriculum?
   
• AI used in the classroom and by students
   
• Fewer and fewer students at IMS
   
• Conclusion: AI replaces programming and is demotivating

AI is becoming a daily work tool

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance. In the workplace, AI has become an everyday tool in many professions. But what about the integration of AI into the curriculum at the Zurich Informatics Secondary School (IMS)?

First of all, it is important to understand that, from a legal standpoint, the IMS is part of school-based basic vocational education. The IMS is authorized by the canton following consultation with the national organization representing the working world, which serves as the sponsoring body. In the case of the IMS, the ICT Vocational Training Association of Switzerland is responsible. Among other things, the IMS training program is governed by the curriculum for EFZ computer scientists developed by ICT Vocational Training, which is based on the corresponding federal training ordinance.

The ICT Vocational Training Association is well aware of the importance of AI in today’s workforce, as evidenced by its May 2026 position paper, which states that AI is becoming a core competency far beyond the ICT professional field.

The ICT Vocational Training Association makes this even clearer in its position paper when it states:

«For Switzerland to fully exploit the potential of AI and position itself as a global AI hub, it needs qualified specialists. Since vocational training produces over 80 percent of ICT professionals, the systematic integration of AI into vocational education is essential. Used effectively, AI can increase efficiency and take over certain tasks.»

ICT Vocational Training estimates that the demand for ICT professionals is not expected to decline and that AI will not be able to replace ICT professions in the near future. Rather, AI requires professionals who are capable of designing AI in an ethical and beneficial manner and integrating it into work processes. According to ICT Vocational Training, AI is changing the tasks involved in ICT professions and shifting the required skill sets. 

AI in the IMS curriculum?

If you look at the IMS curriculum for the Canton of Zurich from August 2023 (as of August 19, 2024), you won’t find a single mention of artificial intelligence, which is not surprising. This is because the IMS curriculum refers to the educational plan—which is based on the ordinance of the State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SBFI) regarding basic vocational education for computer scientists with a Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ) with a specialization in application development dated November 1, 2013 (as of June 1, 2014), occupation number 88601.

Neither the SBFI Ordinance on Basic Vocational Training for IT Specialists with a Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ) dated November 1, 2013, nor the successor ordinance dated November 19, 2020 (as of January 1, 2026), contains a single mention of artificial intelligence (AI).

The situation is somewhat different with regard to the framework curriculum for the vocational baccalaureate—the second educational goal at the IMS—but more on that later.

In August 2026, the new “Curriculum for the IMS Secondary School of Computer Science with the Federal Vocational Maturity Diploma and the Federal Certificate of Competence (SOG) IMS” was finalized. According to the Office for Secondary Education and Vocational Training, this new IMS curriculum stipulates that skills in working with AI are to be taught in the vocational matura subjects German, French, and English, as well as in Interdisciplinary Work Across All Subject Areas (IDAF) and in Interdisciplinary Project Work (IDPA). However, implementation would be at the discretion of the schools.

As for the mandatory vocational instruction for the EFZ in Computer Science and the competencies to be acquired in this area, the IMS curriculum would continue to refer to the educational plan set forth in the SBFI Ordinance on Basic Vocational Education for Computer Scientists with an EFZ. That plan specifies the modules to be completed in the Application Development specialization. However, the implementation of these modules would also be the responsibility of the schools.

Training objective: EFZ IT specialist

Let’s first take a closer look at the guidelines for teaching AI in relation to the EFZ IT Specialist training objective, which are further specified by the ICT-Berufsbildung professional association. However, artificial intelligence is not mentioned in the curriculum developed by ICT-Berufsbildung on November 19, 2020, which implements the SBFI ordinance of November 19, 2020, and specifies the content of basic vocational training. That said, AI still played a minor role in 2020.

One would have expected AI to be mentioned much earlier in the SBFI ordinance on basic vocational training for IT specialists with a Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ), which was revised in 2026. According to Reto Trachsel, project manager at the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education, and Research (WBF), State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SBFI), Division of Vocational and Continuing Education, Department of Basic Vocational Education, it is not unusual, however, that AI is not mentioned there either:

“The educational guidelines for computer science are formulated in general terms. The goal is to define the tasks that a computer scientist must perform in the business world. The guidelines intentionally do not address the specific tools used, as these [...] evolve very rapidly and new ones are constantly being added. AI is already being integrated into the curriculum today. This is already the case in companies anyway. Vocational schools in the canton of Zurich have also been working very intensively on this, and the modules there are designed so that students learn how to use AI tools very effectively.” 

However, SBFI project manager Trachsel could not say whether this is also the case at the IMS, because the canton oversees the IMS. The federal government therefore has no insight into the IMS.

Educational goal: Vocational baccalaureate

The second educational objective of the IMS is governed in particular by the national “Framework Curriculum for the Vocational Maturity Examination in Bern, June 13, 2025” (RLP-BM), which includes several references to AI. The following sentence appears right in the introduction: 

“The topic of artificial intelligence is newly included in the RLP-BM. Appendix 4, Chapter 4 provides information on the chosen approach.”

Students in the Vocational Maturity program—including those at the IMS—are expected to learn how to use modern ICT applications, become familiar with AI applications, develop a critical approach to AI, and acquire the ability to meaningfully integrate results from AI applications. Elsewhere, it states that students should learn to use applications based on artificial intelligence (AI) in a reflective manner.

Furthermore, the framework curriculum for the vocational maturity examination includes guidance on working with artificial intelligence applications. It states that, due to a lack of consensus among teachers, administrators, and policymakers regarding the need to adjust educational goals and subject-specific competencies related to AI, no revision of the subject-specific competencies pertaining to AI has taken place.

“The goal is not for students to regularly use AI applications in class without first acquiring the competencies defined in the RLP-BM. Only after acquiring the defined subject-specific competencies can students develop the ability to reflect on AI and critically evaluate the results of AI applications.” 

In other words: Students should first learn the subject-specific competencies—without the use of AI—so that they are subsequently able to verify the subject-specific accuracy of AI results.

ICT-Berufsbildung association calls for more AI integration

For the ICT Vocational Training Association ICT-Berufsbildung, the AI learning objectives outlined in the RLP-BM would naturally not be sufficient when it comes to the training goal of becoming a certified IT specialist (EFZ). Rather, students should learn to integrate AI effectively into work processes in order to achieve efficiency gains: 

“Apprentices must be specifically empowered to use AI as a supportive tool in a meaningful and safe manner within the learning and work processes.” 

In doing so, the use of AI systems should be integrated into on-the-job training, classroom instruction, and performance assessments in a practice-oriented manner and with reference to current use cases. IT specialists who not only apply but also develop AI systems should also be trained in the structure and functioning of AI solutions.

AI should be enshrined in educational documents as a cross-cutting competency—that is, as a skill that spans disciplines and competencies. Since AI is evolving dynamically, there must be an ongoing examination of its impact on vocational education and training. The solution is to integrate AI as a tool into training, using the action-oriented, flexible, and modular model already in place today.

With regard to “data protection, security, and compliance”, learners should learn which AI tools are permitted and which are prohibited; how AI may or may not be used; whether and how AI-generated content must be labeled; and how data protection and security can be ensured when using AI.

AI used in the classroom and by students

When the Lern-Forum inquired at IMS Büelrain (Canton of Zurich), the head of the department at IMS Büelrain, Jacques Mock Schindler, explained that AI-related content is discussed in class within the flexibility allowed by the respective curricula, but is not a major focus due to regulatory requirements.

However, AI has another dimension at IMS. In online forums, one can read that 80 percent of IMS students do not know how to program and instead use AI for programming. When asked by the Lern-Forum whether this is true, Jacques Mock Schindler, department head at IMS Büelrain, explained that only the subjects covered in the vocational maturity exam are relevant for promotions. Grades from the vocational training subjects (EFZ in Computer Science) would be combined into a single grade for the promotion. Even if this vocational training grade is then insufficient—for example, because the student cannot program manually (i.e., cannot program without AI)—it is still possible to continue until the IMS final exams. However, to pass the IMS final exams, students must be able to program manually—that is, without AI support—otherwise they will fail the EFZ portion and will not be able to complete the IMS program.

The situation is different for the practical final project. Here, IMS students are allowed to use AI when programming, but they must disclose whether they used AI and submit the prompt history (chat log), which also shows how the students used AI.

Fewer and fewer students at IMS

At the Informatics Secondary School (IMS) in the Canton of Zurich, the number of students is declining year after year. While 198 students attended the IMS in 2019, that number had fallen to just 141 by 2025. That represents a staggering 28.8 percent decline—nearly one-third. The declining enrollment at the IMS is all the more surprising given that, overall, the number of students in upper secondary school in the Canton of Zurich is rising due to population growth—from 54,243 in the 2019–2020 school year to 65,210 in the 2025–2026 school year.

In the table below, we have listed the IMS student enrollment figures from 2019 to 2025:

In the 2025–2026 exam year, there was even a decline to 145 IMS examinees; however, thanks to a higher pass rate, 73 students may still have transferred to the IMS. However, the pass rates for the 2025–2026 exam year are not yet included in the IMS student figures collected through the 2025–2026 school year, since the students who passed the IMS exam in the 2025–2026 exam year will not be able to begin at the IMS until the 2026–2027 school year.

What is already striking, however, is that the number of examinees who took the IMS exam dropped dramatically in the 2025/2026 IMS exam year.

Statements from the Secondary and Vocational Education Office

In response to an inquiry from the Lern-Forum, the Office of Secondary Education and Vocational Training attributed this sharp decline in registration numbers for the 2025/2026 exam year to the fact that the admission requirements for the IMS Central Entrance Exam (ZAP) were adjusted in 2025. Accordingly, applicants for the IMS entrance exam were now required to submit the Multicheck “Computer Scientist EFZ Application Development for Computer Science Secondary Schools (IMS)” (previously, it was the Multicheck “Computer Scientist EFZ Application Development”). The IMS school administrations had revised the content of the Multicheck. 

See also our article “Gateway as a preliminary check for IMS”. 

Furthermore, starting with the 2025/2026 exam year, the Multicheck can no longer be retaken. These adjustments have led to an increase in the number of students registering for the IMS entrance exam who have the potential to successfully pass both the entrance exam and the IMS program. The increased success rate on the IMS entrance exam—that is, the “Passed”/“Tested” ratio—demonstrates that these adjustments have been effective.

However, these statements by the Canton of Zurich’s Office for Secondary Education and Vocational Training do not make sense. For one thing, the Multicheck has not been made more difficult; for another, the Multicheck is not intended to weed out students who are unlikely to pass the IMS exam, but rather those who will pass the IMS exam but do not belong at the IMS because they are not suited to the IMS curriculum. 

Statements from IMS Büelrain

IMS Büelrain, however, has a completely different explanation for the decline in registration numbers for the IMS exam. On the one hand, IMS is a niche product in the canton of Zurich with low absolute student numbers, which is why fluctuations in the figures are much more noticeable, according to Jacques Mock Schindler, department head at IMS Büelrain, in an interview with Lern-Forum. On the other hand, there is reasonable suspicion that potential IMS students fear they won’t be able to find an internship due to developments in the field of AI-assisted programming. However, according to Jacques Mock Schindler, this fear has not materialized to date; on the contrary, all IMS students have found an IMS internship so far.

See also our article “More unemployed academics: trend no cause for concern”.

Incidentally, according to Jacques Mock Schindler, department head at IMS Büelrain, the IMS Multicheck aptitude test is no longer repeatable because the questions were identical on subsequent attempts. This would have allowed even those students who were unsuitable for IMS to pass the Multicheck. These students would then have left IMS before the end of their training because they lacked the aptitude assessed by the Multicheck. The Multicheck aptitude test is specifically designed to determine how well a student can think abstractly. The test is therefore intended to screen out people who would have difficulty dealing with abstract concepts.

When asked specifically why students are no longer allowed to retake the Multicheck, the Office of Secondary Education and Vocational Training responded to Lern-Form only cryptically by copying and pasting a repetitive standard answer—one used for many different questions from Lern-Forum—instead of providing a clear explanation:

“The Multicheck has been revised so that more students who have the potential to successfully complete both the ZAP and the IMS will register for the ZAP and attend the IMS.”

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Conclusion: AI replaces programming and is demotivating

How AI is used in the classroom at IMS ultimately depends on the individual teacher. This is because AI is currently viewed primarily as a tool in the IMS curriculum.

It is a major shortcoming that it is possible at IMS to advance to the next grade without any practical programming skills. On the one hand, classmates become demotivated over the course of the program when they realize that certain students cannot program at all without AI. On the other hand, the students in question cannot be expected to develop solid programming skills if they have to learn hands-on programming only to pass the IMS final exams.

An additional source of demotivation related to the IMS is the fear among prospective IMS students that, due to the AI boom, they will not be able to find a position for the one-year IMS internship after completing their secondary education. The IMS or the Office of Secondary and Vocational Education of the Canton of Zurich can resolve this problem by providing a guarantee of an IMS internship; if necessary, missing internship positions must be made available in cooperation with cantonal administrations. A guarantee that a certain number of IMS internship positions will be provided by employers in the private sector can also help.

In particular, our inquiries with the Office of Secondary Education and Vocational Training have revealed that the office is completely unaware of the actual problems related to enrollment in the IMS and therefore has no plans to address the current lack of appeal of IMS training.  

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Sources

• IMS Preparation in Zurich – So Your Child Doesn’t Fail, But Reaches Their Full Potential (last accessed: 14.9.2026)
   
• Artificial intelligence is changing ICT vocational training (last accessed: 14.9.2026)
   
• Canton of Zurich: Curriculum of the IT secondary school IMS with federal vocational baccalaureate and federal certificate of competence (school-based basic education SOG), IMS, August 2023 (as of August 19, 2024) (last accessed: 14.9.2026)
   
• Ordinance of the SBFI of 1 November 2013 on basic vocational training for IT specialists with a federal certificate of competence (EFZ) (last accessed: 14.9.2026)
   
• Ordinance of the SBFI on basic vocational training for IT specialists with a federal certificate of competence (EFZ) of 19 November 2020 (as of 1 January 2026) (last accessed: 14.9.2026)
   
• EDUCATIONAL PLAN for the Ordinance of the SBFI of 19 November 2020 on basic vocational training for IT specialists with a Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ) of 19 November 2020 (last accessed: 14.9.2026)
   
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