Multicheck Gateway as a preliminary check for IMS

The Canton of Zurich requires candidates to take a specific Multicheck test provided by the private provider Gateway in order to be admitted to the IMS examination; in certain areas, candidates must achieve a minimum score in this IMS aptitude test.

By making the IMS Multicheck a requirement, the Canton of Zurich has outsourced part of the admission process for the IMS examination to a private provider – effectively requiring a private preliminary examination for the IMS.

The contract was awarded to a single aptitude test provider via a direct award procedure – i.e. without a tender process – even though there are other providers of such aptitude tests. Furthermore, it is not possible to lodge a direct appeal against the Multicheck aptitude test.

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The most important points in brief:

No IMS exam without the IMS Multicheck; the Secondary School and Vocational Training Office (Mittelschul- und Berufsbildungsamt) does not accept a retake of the IMS Multicheck in the same year; however, according to the Canton of Zurich, it is at least possible to retake the IMS Multicheck the following year.

The argument put forward by the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training, that the Multicheck was chosen as the aptitude test for the IMS examination because this corresponds to the practice in IT training companies, is not convincing, as in the private sector – at least in some cases – several aptitude tests from different providers are accepted for applications for an IT apprenticeship.

No direct appeal is possible against the IMS Multicheck; however, according to the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training, the school management’s admission decision can be challenged through legal proceedings, and the Multicheck result can also be reviewed within this framework.

Table of Contents

Multicheck aptitude test required for IMS exam registration
- Is it possible to retake the IMS Multicheck test the following year?
History of the aptitude test for the IMS examination
Awarding of the aptitude test to Gateway via a direct award procedure
Appeals against the Multicheck test are only possible as part of the IMS examination registration
Conclusion

Multicheck aptitude test required for IMS exam registration

Anyone wishing to register for the entrance examination to a secondary school for computer science (IMS examination) in the Canton of Zurich must meet various requirements, including the submission of a Multicheck certificate for the Multicheck test ‘Informatician EFZ: Application Development for Secondary Schools for Computer Science (IMS)’ («Informatiker/in EFZ Applikationsentwicklung für Informatikmittelschulen (IMS)»). To be eligible for the exam, students must have achieved at least 50 points in both the ‘Potential’ and ‘Job-specific Skills’ sections of this Multicheck aptitude test.

However, there are further points to bear in mind when taking the Multicheck test for the IMS examination. Firstly, the examination date for the Multicheck must be booked between 1 June and 25 September of the relevant IMS examination year, and the examination must also be taken within this period.

Furthermore, according to the website of the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training of the Canton of Zurich, the Multicheck test must not be retaken if it is to be used for registration for the IMS examination. In theory, it is possible to retake a Multicheck test as often as one wishes; however, if a Multicheck test is retaken within the same test period (May to May of the following year), the Multicheck certificate will bear the notation ‘2nd attempt’, and such certificates are not accepted by the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training.

Is it possible to retake the IMS Multicheck test the following year?

The Lern-Forum asked the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training of the Canton of Zurich whether it is possible to retake the Multicheck in the test period of the following year, with a view to registering for the IMS examination in that subsequent year. The Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training replied to the Lern-Forum:

‘The Multicheck can be retaken if you re-register next year.’

Other useful information: The Multicheck test required for the IMS examination, ‘Informatician EFZ: Application Development for Secondary Schools for Computer Science (IMS)’, costs CHF 100 with the private provider Gateway; there are no other providers. This Multicheck test takes approximately 3.5 hours to complete.

History of the aptitude test for the IMS examination

Section 12 of the VAM (Ordinance on Admission to Upper Secondary Schools following Secondary Education and upon Completion of Basic Vocational Training) – issued by the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich – states that the school principals of IMS schools determine which aptitude test must be taken and what result is required for admission to the examination.

It is strange that § 12 VAM refers to only one aptitude test, even though there are several providers of aptitude tests for apprenticeships, in addition to the Multicheck from Gateway, there is also the Stellwerktest from the Lehrmittelverlag St.Gallen and the Berufs-Check from the vocational training portal Yousty.ch; the latter is even free for students.

And indeed, the school principals of IMS schools have designated only a single aptitude test for admission to the IMS examination, namely the Multicheck aptitude test from Gateway.

The Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training of the Canton of Zurich justifies the use of the Multicheck test as the aptitude test for admission to the IMS examination to the Lern-Forum as follows:

‘The admission requirement for the Multicheck is based on the widespread practice among IT training companies that use this test in their application process.’

However, when looking for companies offering IT apprenticeships, one can see, for example, in the advertisement for an IT apprenticeship as an ‘Informatician EFZ Platform Development’ from the catering and hotel management company ‘SV (Schweiz) AG’, that not only the Multicheck is accepted as an aptitude test, but the Stellwerk test or the Basis Check can also be submitted with the application as an alternative.

The practice of application procedures in IT training companies cannot therefore be used to justify why the Canton of Zurich accepts only the Multicheck as the sole aptitude test for admission to the IMS examination.

Another attempt by the Canton of Zurich to justify its restriction to a single aptitude test is based on the argument that this has always been the case. According to the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training of the Canton of Zurich, it is not a new requirement that a private aptitude test must be taken prior to admission to the IMS examination. The ‘Regulations for Admission to the Pilot Classes of the Secondary Schools of Computer Science (IMS) at Commercial Secondary Schools in the Canton of Zurich’ of 7 March 2000 already stipulated that, for admission to the IMS examination, proof of having passed an aptitude test must be provided, namely the ‘ZLI (Zurich Association of Computer Science Tutors, German: Zürcher Lehrmeistervereinigung Informatik) aptitude test’.

According to information obtained from the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training, this ZLI aptitude test, set by the Zurich Association of Computer Science Tutors, was accepted as an aptitude test for admission to the IMS examination until around 2005. After that, the ZLI aptitude test was replaced by the Multicheck test, which, until the 2014/2015 school year, still had to be taken at the Zurich Association of Computer Science Tutors.

However, the argument that there has always been only one IMS aptitude test and that therefore nothing has changed is not convincing. This is because the original ZLI aptitude test was administered by the Zurich Association of Computer Science Tutors, which, according to its own statements, was founded as a non-profit association.

The provider of the Multicheck Gateway, on the other hand, is a profit-oriented company in the form of a stock company, whose full name is ‘GATEWAY Solutions AG’.

Awarding of the aptitude test to Gateway via a direct award procedure

To prevent competition law issues in the awarding of contracts, public authorities must comply with public procurement law when awarding contracts to private firms. When a contract is awarded to one of several potential bidders, the decision must, amongst other things, be transparent, traceable, free from arbitrariness and objectively founded. This also serves to promote competition.

Given that the private sector accepts aptitude tests from various providers in the application process for IT apprenticeships, the decision by the Canton of Zurich to restrict itself to a single provider is incomprehensible and objectively unfounded. Furthermore, it harms competition among aptitude test providers if a single profit-oriented provider is granted a monopoly on the provision of IMS aptitude tests.

The Lern-Forum has also raised the resulting competition law issues with the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training. When asked whether a tender process had taken place in connection with the selection of the aptitude test, the Office replied to the Lern-Forum that the award to the provider of the Multicheck Gateway would fulfil the conditions for a direct award procedure (German: freihändiges Verfahren).

The Canton of Zurich bases its decision regarding the direct award procedure in this matter on Article 21(1) of the Intercantonal Agreement on Public Procurement (IVöB), which applies to contracts worth less than CHF 150,000 (excluding VAT). The contract value for the tenderer Gateway was calculated over a period of four years.

According to Gateway’s website, participation in the IMS Multicheck test costs CHF 100; however, this is a price for end customers, which is why VAT is likely already included. If one deducts the 8.1% Swiss VAT, the remaining value is CHF 92.51 per Multicheck test. In 2025, 198 candidates took the IMS exam in the canton of Zurich. In 2024, there were 202 candidates. So, assuming an average of 200 candidates per year, this amounts to an estimated 800 candidates over four years, all of whom were required to take the IMS Multicheck. These estimated 800 candidates alone would have already paid CHF 74,008 to Gateway for the Multicheck aptitude test. Assuming that slightly more than twice as many pupils take the IMS Multicheck, the CHF 150,000 threshold is quickly exceeded.

The fact that there are more participants in the IMS Multicheck than candidates sitting the IMS examination stems from the fact that, on the one hand, not all pupils achieve the required minimum marks in the relevant subject areas and, on the other hand, pupils who have not achieved the minimum mark in the Multicheck can retake it the following year.

A request to Gateway asking how many people have actually taken the Multicheck ‘Informatician EFZ: Application Development for Secondary Schools for Computer Science (IMS)’ for the IMS in the Canton of Zurich over the last four years (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) has so far remained unanswered.

Appeals against the Multicheck test are only possible as part of the IMS examination registration

Anyone who scores fewer than 50 points in the ‘potential’ and ‘job-specific skills’ sections of the private IMS Multicheck is denied admission to the IMS – a state school. Although candidates may view their test results after the exam, it is not possible to lodge an appeal under public law.

In response to the objection raised with the Secondary School and Vocational Training Office that this could constitute a breach of the principle of the right to legal redress, the principle of the right to be heard and the principle of administrative legality, the Office conceded that there is no direct legal remedy against the result of the Multicheck. However – as the Secondary School and Vocational Training Office informed the Lern-Forum – an appeal may be lodged against the school management’s admission decision, as made in accordance with Section 13 VAM, within the framework of which the Multicheck result would remain subject to review.

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Conclusion

One might perhaps understand the reasoning put forward by the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training of the Canton of Zurich that an aptitude test is important for admission to the IMS examination, in order to ensure that the training at the IMS is successfully completed. This is because, as the Office explained to the Lern-Forum, unlike in the case of the part-time BMS, pupils who drop out of the IMS would not simply be able to continue their vocational training at the training company. According to the Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training, the IMS itself is the training company, which would no longer be available if the pupil were to drop out of the IMS.

However, the decision by the Canton of Zurich, in conjunction with the IMS school management, to accept only a single aptitude test for admission to the IMS examination is incomprehensible and cannot be objectively founded; particularly as at least some training companies are considerably more open-minded and accept different aptitude tests from various providers for applications for an IT apprenticeship.

It is also strange that, although the Canton of Zurich promises pupils free primary education and, according to Section 33 of the Secondary School Act, the classes at the IMS must also be free, pupils are then required to pay CHF 100 for a kind of preliminary test for the IMS examination, namely the Multicheck. The Office for Secondary School and Vocational Training told the Lern-Forum that only classes at primary and secondary schools in the Canton of Zurich are free of charge, but not the transfer procedure. According to the office, this is also evident from the fact that § 19 VAM additionally provides for a registration fee of CHF 50 for the IMS exam. Free school education looks rather different.

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