Worker resources Archives

Sabrina R.: Reaching the peak of her career – and then turning everything upside down

by jennypetrini | Jan 21, 2025 | Worker resources

Even as a child, Sabrina R. was enthusiastic about helping out in her parents’ restaurant, whether it was in the kitchen, serving customers, or working behind the counter. Despite her love for the hospitality industry, she decided not to pursue a career as a chef and instead completed a commercial apprenticeship in human resources (HR). By the age of 33, Sabrina had reached the peak of her HR career and was running a company’s HR department. But instead of settling for that, she decided to turn her life upside down and returned to her true passion: the hospitality industry.

The return to her vocation

In April 2024, a chance encounter led Sabrina to sign up with Coople. “I was on a train, having just quit my job, when a gentleman from my neighbouring village told me about Coople. I downloaded the app on the train and signed up for my first job,” Sabrina recalls.

Since then, she has completed more than 100 shifts in various roles, including as a waitress, chef and bartender. “Coople allows me to plan my shifts flexibly and gain experience in a variety of locations,” she explains. For Sabrina, the world of hospitality isn’t just a job – it’s her vocation.

Flexibility that connects businesses and employees

Working at Coople has not only allowed Sabrina to pursue her passion, but has also helped her gain valuable new experiences. “You learn something new with every shift and every encounter helps you grow,” she says. She particularly appreciates the flexibility of being able to take on jobs in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. “Even though my French was a bit rusty, I jumped at the chance to do a shift in the Romandy region. It was a great opportunity, and I got on well with the team.”

Networking has been another major benefit for Sabrina. Thanks to her many shifts, she has made valuable contacts and is now a favourite with 31 companies.

For Sabrina, one of Coople’s greatest advantages is the simple and fast connection between temporary workers and employers. “Companies can quickly find staff, and the platform is very user-friendly,” she explains. At the same time, Coople offers workers like Sabrina the opportunity to explore different roles and work flexibly.

A call for courage and openness

Sabrina firmly believes that those who dare to break new ground can achieve great things. Her advice to other Cooplers: “Especially if you’re still figuring out your career path, Coople is the perfect place to explore new industries and meet new people.”

Her story shows that it’s never too late to follow your dreams and reinvent yourself. For Sabrina, returning to the hospitality industry was the best decision she could have made. With Coople, she has found a platform that gives her the flexibility to pursue her passion while continuing to grow professionally.

Looking for a new career challenge?

Let Sabrina’s story inspire you and find flexible shifts that fit into your life. Download the Coople Jobs app now and discover new opportunities!

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Which sectors can you find the most jobs in right now?

by Annette Burgard | Oct 31, 2023 | Worker resources

Find out which sectors have the highest demand for workers and how you can increase your chances of being hired.

These job profiles are currently in high demand:

Waiter / waitress
Sales assistant / retail trade
Waiter
Chef
Logistician
Graduate nurse
Dishwasher

Don’t forget that you can add almost any job profile with no training, so you don’t need any professional experience. Click here for a quick reminder of how to add job profiles.

We also invite you to follow us on social media and to connect regularly to the app (and read our notifications) so that you don’t miss out on any jobs.

Here are some tips to help you increase your chances of getting hired:

1. Make sure to add the relevant job profile(s) if one of the roles above interests you. The more job profiles you add, the more suitable job requests you will receive.

Add new job profiles

2. Apply for as many jobs as possible, even if they are slightly outside your comfort zone. Be open to new opportunities and do not let rejection discourage you! We recommend you to apply for last-minute jobs, jobs with night shifts or jobs with the “be an early applicant” label, as the chances of getting hired are higher.

3. Does your Coople profile represent you well? Your CV should show your most important work experiences. A good profile picture also helps to make a strong first impression. Make sure that your profile is up-to-date and represents your best self when the job requests come in.

4. Log into the Coople Job App regularly to search for jobs proactively. By logging in, you signal your interest in our jobs and we will send you more requests.

Good luck with your job search!

Start job search

Further education for temporary workers: A subsidised investment for the future.

by Corinne Keller | Oct 11, 2023 | Infos für Arbeitnehmer, Worker resources

Over 350,000 people work temporarily in Switzerland every year. Thanks to the temptraining training fund, they benefit from advanced training opportunities and can thus maintain and improve their employability.

In this article, we look at why investing in further education is so important for temporary workers and why temporary workers benefit from a special position.

Why is further education important for temporary workers?

In today’s ever-changing world of work, lifelong learning is essential. Even if the study or training in a profession has long been completed, it is worthwhile to continue investing in your own knowledge. In today’s fast-moving world of work, it is important to stay on track, keep learning and always be open to changes that occur in working life. This is especially true for temporary workers, who often face the challenge of having to adapt quickly to new work environments. Continuous further education can not only improve career opportunities, but also increase professional flexibility and satisfaction.

Advantages of further education for temporary workers

Continuing education plays an important role in personal development, as new tasks and challenges also increase motivation and thus the joy of working. In addition, self-esteem is boosted and one approaches tasks with more self-confidence.

Temporary workers are employed in a variety of industries, from catering and retail to office work and healthcare. Targeted training enables them to acquire or deepen industry-specific expertise, which increases the quality of their work. Another aspect is the diversity of occupational fields in which temporary employees can work. The offer of further education in Switzerland, combined with the possibility of gaining specific professional experience in flexible deployments, also paves the way for career changers. In this way, a preferred change of industry may be achieved much more quickly than by changing permanent positions several times.

Temporary employment often requires quick adaptation to new work environments and team structures. Professional development education helps develop the ability to navigate different contexts and become productive quickly.

Employees who invest in their education and make the most of their further education opportunities are more attractive to potential employers. Commitment to personal and professional development demonstrates motivation and self-initiative.

Consequently, through continuous further education, temporary workers broaden their range of skills. This enables them to qualify for more diverse positions and possibly even consider long-term employment. In addition, continuing education often means that the flexible workers, after successful completion, are also classified higher in the salary segment and can thus earn more in future employments than before.

temptraining, the training fund for temporary workers

Temporary employees, who are covered by the Collective Employment Contract on Staff Leasing, benefit from subsidised further education. It is possible to apply for up to CHF 5,000 for further education and up to CHF 2,250 for loss of salary.

On the payslips, which temporary employment agencies issue, 0.4 percent is also deducted for the “GAV contribution” in addition to social deductions. This contribution flows into the temptraining training fund, among other things. At the same time, the personnel service provider contributes 0.4 percent of the salary.

temptraining supports courses that help temporary workers advance in their jobs – i.e. are relevant to their careers – and make them fit for the future: language courses, occupational safety training, computer courses, further professional education or career counselling. Temporary workers can undergo training or further education in their current field of activity, or acquire important skills to reeducate in a new area.

temptraining points out that they consciously do not offer any schools or courses themselves, as the diversity of temporary workers is too great. Therefore, temptraining refers to certified training institutes that offer courses in the diverse professions and sectors of temporary workers. It is important that the course takes place at a school that is approved by temptraining.

What is the eligibility for temptraining funding?

Temporary employees accumulate further education credits for every hour they have worked in the last 12 months. From 88 working hours, the credit can then be used by submitting an application for further training to temptraning. At this point, they are already entitled to CHF 500 for further education and CHF 250 for loss of salaries.

Due to the changes in the regulations as of 1 September 2023, the amount for further education increases by an additional CHF 5.68 for every hour worked flexibly. How much money an employee has available for further education therefore depends on the number of temporary working hours worked in the past 12 months.

An offer that permanent employees can usually only dream of. It is therefore worthwhile to keep checking the eligibility for support and to adopt the mindset of lifelong learning!

The new temptraining web portal

Over the last few months, temptraining has been intensively looking for solutions to optimise its existing processes for submitting applications and to make it even easier for temporary workers to use their accumulated training credits. As of 1 October 2023, this will be possible via a new web portal.

The application process will be partially automated to reduce waiting times. In addition, temporary employees can now search directly in the web portal for approved courses and continuing education opportunities and view their current training credit at any time.

Claudio Trenna, the head of temptraining sums it up as follows:

“We are pleased to now make access to further education for flexible workers even more simple and direct with our redesigned web portal. Acquiring more expert knowledge and improving one’s opportunities for promotion in the job are two of the most frequently stated motivators for temporary workers to consider further education. With the change in regulations, we hope to receive and approve even more applications in the future.”

Click here to access the new web portal

How the application process works at temptraining

The application process is now possible not only in advance, but also up to 12 months after the start of the course.

“Temporary workers are also free to choose the timing of their training. They can receive further education benefits from temptraining up to 12 months after their temporary employment. This gives them the flexibility to optimally coordinate their professional career and further education,” Myra Fischer-Rosinger, Director of swissstaffing, recently emphasised.

It should be taken into account that further education must first be self-financed. The funding from temptraining is only paid out after successful completion of a course. Successful completion is considered to be when at least 80% of a continuing education or retraining course has been completed. In order for temptraining to transfer the approved amount, they need the relevant evidence.

Cooples flexible employees can find their payslip in the Coople Jobs App. They can upload these to temptraining’s new web portal to access their allotment of temporary hours worked. Now they can filter for suitable courses and submit an application for further education support to temptraining. Flexible employees can therefore register on the new temptraining web portal, check how many temporary working hours they have already worked and the amount of further training to which they are entitled as well as search for suitable further education and submit their application.

Further information about temptraining

Detailed information, explanatory videos, support examples and much more can be found on the temptraining website von temptraining. If you have any questions, temptraining can be contacted at 044 388 95 30 (Monday to Friday: 10:00 – 12:00 and 13:30 – 15:30) or at info@temptraining.ch.

How do temporary employees find the right training?

It is not so easy to find the right further education programme. It is certainly helpful to first try to define what skills and knowledge you would like to acquire. This can help you to look specifically for continuing education that corresponds to your professional goals.

If there is still uncertainty about which path is the right one, Coople offers support in cooperation with temptraining and eduwo. On the edwuo website, temporary employees are provided with a digital career coach or further education finder. Users automatically receive course recommendations based on their needs and interests.

If personal counselling is preferred, eduwo also offers help here. Until the end of 2023, temporary employees can book a free continuing education consultation worth CHF 100. Simply choose a suitable date and time and get advice from an education expert. Please note: The offer is limited in time and number.

Click here for the digital career advisor

Here you can book a personal consultation

Celebrating ten years with Coopler Sandy

by jennypetrini | Nov 22, 2022 | Worker resources

Congratulations to our Coopler Sandy on her 10th anniversary with Coople. We couldn’t be prouder to celebrate the 10-year anniversaries of our Cooplers! For this occasion, we spoke with Sandy about her highlights and how she has been able to grow thanks to Coople.

Introducing: Sandy

Since her registration at Coople in 2011 (back then, it was called Staff Finder), Sandy worked in many different sectors and roles. For example, in sales, promotion, logistics and hospitality. Through these various experiences, Sandy has learned to be open to new things and to take on new challenges. Sandy is a favourite Coopler for 27 companies and still works regularly with Coople.

Why did you join Coople?

“Before I registered with Coople, I did various promotion jobs. When I was at the gastronomy fair, I came into contact with Staff Finder, registered there and tried it out straight away. Such online platforms were new at that time, and I really liked it.”

What was your first Coople job?

“I’m honestly not sure anymore, but I think it was a job for a perfume promotion.”

“You get to know many different people and have the opportunity to do many different jobs.”

What experiences have you gained since working with Coople?

“You get to know many different people and have the opportunity to do many different jobs. I’ve also learned to become open to new situations and to always take on new challenges.”

What personal or professional goals are you working towards?

“I would like to have the education level “skilled” in hospitality job profiles so that I can work for exciting events.”

What advice would you give to new flexible workers?

“Don’t give up, even if you get several rejections at the beginning. You should keep applying and stick with it. Adding a good CV to your profile is also very important.”

What’s your favourite moment when thinking about the past 10 years with Coople?

“Definitely the job at the Bürgenstock Hotel, where I dressed up as an Easter egg and handed out chocolates. Afterwards, I was even allowed to take as much chocolate as I wanted from the Lindt shop – that was a very great experience. Or when I was allowed to hand out gummy bears at the Slowup and the weather was just beautiful.”

Celebrating ten years with Coopler Bettina

by jennypetrini | Nov 2, 2022 | Worker resources

We couldn’t be prouder to celebrate the 10-year anniversaries of our Cooplers! We spoke to our long-time Cooplers to learn more about their flexible work experience with Coople and to share their tips with you.

Introducing: Bettina

Bettina registered as a flexible worker back in 2011 when Coople was still called Staff Finder. Initially, she mainly worked promotion jobs but since then Bettina has tried many different roles and industries. Bettina has sold clothes in retail, worked as a waiter, at bars, and has also worked in childcare, where she was able to do handicrafts with the children. Today, Bettina is a favourite Coopler for 13 companies and regularly uses Coople for finding flexible work.

“I wanted to have more freedom to decide for myself what kind of jobs I wanted to do and found that with Coople.”

Why did you join Coople?

“At the time it was still called Staff Finder. I wanted to have more freedom to decide for myself what kind of jobs I wanted to do and found that with Coople. I got a lot of opportunities to look into different professions that I didn’t study and in which I had no work experience at all. I was very interested in that, and it helped me in my professional life. The first time I heard about Coople was probably through Patchwork Promotion. They were already working with Staff Finder at that time and the boss there, who is a colleague of mine, knows Viktor personally.”

What experiences have you gained since working with Coople?

“I was able to gain experience in working with children. I was so interested in that, that I decided to educate myself in this field. A little later, outside of Coople, I got a nanny job with famous people. I got employed as nanny by this family for 3 days a week, whenever the parents had to travel abroad. My references from the Coople jobs helped me get this job as I already had work experience in addition to my training.”

What personal or professional goals are you working towards?

“Currently I live in Switzerland and Tunisia at times and Coople helps me finance my many trips. When I’m in Tunisia, I always plan where I want to work when I come back to Switzerland. That’s so easy with the Coople Jobs App as I can apply from anywhere in the world and plan my time ideally. My professional and personal goal is to learn English so that I can communicate better in Tunisia, and it’s also beneficial for my career.”

What advice would you give to new flexible workers?

“That’s funny, as I recently attended a Coople job where we had to check Covid certificates and there were about 4 to 5 students who had just registered and didn’t know exactly how Coople worked. I then took some time during the break and gave them the following tips: “it’s best to add 10 job profiles right away and make sure to upload your CV. You also need to log in to the Coople Jobs App regularly and reject jobs that don’t suit you.” They thought that if they rejected jobs, they wouldn’t get any requests anymore. In general, I would say that the younger generation tends to give up too quickly and should try longer.”

What message do you have for hiring companies?

“It would be nice if the people in charge on site were always informed that Cooplers are coming. Sometimes I get there and nobody knows I’m coming to work. That’s not a good first impression. I only know what to do in such situations because I have so much experience, and I know how to ask around so that I end up where I’m supposed to work. But this can be very confusing, especially for new Cooplers.

I also like the QR codes for check-in and check-out a lot, but unfortunately there are many companies that don’t use it properly or not at all.

But it is always nice to feel the gratitude hiring companies have towards us Cooplers, since they do not have time for the tasks we perform. The co-workers and bosses on site are mostly very appreciative, which gives me a good feeling. I also like that I can usually have an impact on how I do my job, individually and personally.”

What’s your favourite moment when thinking about the past 10 years with Coople?

“There are a lot. But the most impressive job was probably working at the bar at the Open Air Gampel. It was crazy how much beer we sold. The ambience, the music and the visitors were just so great, and it was an extremely cool experience to be part of such an event. There were about 10’000 to 12’000 people in the festival area! Apart from that, I always really enjoy promotion jobs.”

Occupational safety: How to avoid accidents during a job

by juliefreeman | Jul 5, 2022 | Information for companies, Worker resources

Even though it is quite rare, emergencies do happen every now and then – even in the workplace. That’s why occupational safety should be a top priority for both companies and workers.

To ensure that all jobs are safe, it’s extremely important to know before and during a job how everyone involved can behave in a safe manner, and how to react in the event of an accident.

Please make sure to observe the following points at all times:

Important safety rules for workers

What do I need to know before starting a job?

The hiring company must inform employees in detail about possible dangers and important rules of conduct.
Employees must always wear the required protective equipment and follow the safety precautions.
Employees should always know where first aid kits, alarm plans, fire extinguishers, escape routes, and assembly points are located.
In case of danger, follow the rule “Stop – do not continue working until the danger has been eliminated”.

What do I have to do in an emergency?

Secure the accident site and the injured person.
Give first aid, treat the injured person and, if the injuries are more serious, call an ambulance.
Inform your shift manager or the contact person on site.
Contact Coople as soon as possible.

More information on occupational safety for workers:

Important safety rules for companies

Prior to the start of a job, companies are obliged to determine and clearly communicate to their employees how to behave safely and what needs to be done in an emergency.

What must be ensured before a job?

Define hazards for the company and establish vital safety rules.
Organise necessary protective equipment and safe work tools.
Ensure maintenance of buildings, facilities, work equipment and personal protective equipment.
Compile handling instructions for hazardous materials.
Provide first aid kits, alarm plans, and fire extinguishers, and determine escape routes, assembly points, and other emergency measures.
Ensure first aid for employees who work alone.

In an emergency, follow the rule “Stop in the event of danger – Eliminate danger – Continue working”. In case of an emergency, it’s also important that you get in touch with Coople as quickly as possible.

More information on occupational safety for companies: