Hello everyone,

I have been on RAV for a few months.

Last meeting I had I was asked to show ALK that I am doing efforts in learning german (A1 level here) and I have been given the form I am attaching now. Apparently Duolingo or stuff like that is not sufficient.

My goal is to choose a course I want to do, and I am keen in selecting a semi-intensive course which is in the evening (something like 2-3 days per week, 2 or 3h per lesson). Reason is it is unrealistic for me to reach any job-level requirement (such as B1) in less than 6-8 months and I plan to find a job before that. My best bet is my skillset, not knowing german.

My RAV counsellor is very strict and I am afraid she wants to push for Migros Schule, which I have been told is very slow but also would mean going every morning for 4h. I want to avoid this at any cost.

1. Has anybody any experience on this, courses they would be accepting as good enough (which are not every day)?
2. Can I contact ALK and propose my own selection of a course?
3. If they refuse to pay it for me and I pay it myself, can I still use it as proof I am doing my efforts?
4. If I have some options of courses I can do in evenings, what is the best way to approach this problem?

Thank you all for your support!

Attached Files

Gesuch_um_Zustimmung_zum_Kursbesuch.pdf (15.0 KB, 57 views)

You are 100% available but only want to put effort for some evenings in a week, for 2/3 hours. If you would be the RAV consultant, what impression would you have?

Why don´t you want to do courses during the day? A lot of these courses are during the day.

Ask RAV what courses they will pay for as they probably have a "budget" that will not include more expensive courses, I´d think.

The Migros courses are fine, you get out what you put in the same as anything else.

RAV are offering to pay for an intensive German course, there’s almost no valid reason for you to say no.

Yep, lucky you. They cost a lot of money.

Colleagues of mine have successfully argued that every company in the industry they're in has English as the company language and German would be of no use. I suppose that's not your case. What's your native language?

Also:

• 6-8 months is plenty of time to get a decent level of German on an intensive course
  
• if you don't do it you'll be back on the forum in a few years complaining about the German rules for a residence permit

I'm a bit unclear as to what your situation actually is:

- Have the RAV concluded that your German is deficient and have concluded that you must attend a course which they will pay for? if so from what I remember the normally have a list of approved schools you need to select from in order for it to be acceptable to them.

- Have you been reporting that you have been spending part of your time learning German as part of your efforts to find a new job and they now want verification of this?

As to the amount of effort you need to put in, you need to remember that you now work full time for them and if they decide you need to spend 4 hours a day on one course, then that is want you will be doing if you want to get paid.

__________________
"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

I can't see that working in Schwyz - OP should think themselves lucky they aren't being sent on a Schwyzerdütsch course.

Extremely surprised, honestly.

A friend is on unemployment at the moment and she has to go on a course of several weeks every day- full day. Unemployment are your employers, 100% and can expect you to work, 100%.

I don't want to be that pedant, but......unemployment pays 70-80% of last job's income. So, that's 30-34 hours per week.

OK. If you're e.g. a qualified specialised document writer (in English) they won't be asking you to stack shelves in Coop. In Basel and all of Switzerland there's only a few companies I could work for using my skillset. RAV generally want you to stick to your skillset.

Thank you all for your answers. But so far I have not received any answer to my questions, but rather questioning my intents I have my reasons for not wanting to do courses in the morning/afternoon, which are out of the scope of this post.

Yes. As I said, this is not enough. We wants a form where I specify a course to attend. She gave me no list to select from.

Also Migros school I was discouraged by various people, for being slower. I would rather pay myself a school which is what I choose in the evening, rather than spend every morning there.

At least not for the first 18 months; but play silly buggers like refusing a German course and it may head that way later on...

Correct. As a matter of fact, I am now attenting a very specialized course offered me by RAV, and that is where I am planning my next steps for my career (which likely will not be employment).

Having additional time on the side allows me to start investigating into the practicability of my project. German will be helpful, but not the priority.

Fair enough, but they are not out of scope of the RAV - if you aren't available to do a course in the mornings, and your normal job would include mornings, they would be within their rights to conclude you are only available for work 50%.

But looking at the form - why not just fill it in with your proposed course and discuss it? It has an option to say "abends" etc.

And take along the proposed cost of the Migros course vs the proposed cost of your course and offer to pay the difference if necessary.

Probably, reading between the lines- they may want you to do a day course because they suspect your are not actually available for some reason. Doing another job, or perhaps looking after children, or ... They will be naturally very suspicious if you refuse to attend day course, for language or any other course they deem useful or necessary to help you find a job.

If you have children, for instance, you have to have full time cover if on RAV, proven, documented and signed for.

There was a huge change in the language courses/classes/formats/ prices of language courses during covid. So I can't tell you if anyone is particularly recommended. I also would not complain about Migros Klubschule being 'slow' - certainly for A1 you could simply self-teach and do the test and see if you have been successful by yourself.... for how long have you been learning German ?



When we first arrived in Switzerland, Migros Klubschule was the recommended option - because it's less expensive and offers a variety of formats.


If you want more flexibility (but as others have pointed out, acting like you are 'unavailable' when you are meant to be available for job-hunting and potential work during most of the week.... you could look at the Migros Klubschule online learning packages and see if RAV will agree with you doing one of those.


https://online-academy.klubschule.ch..._dummy-angebot

Colleagues actually asked to go on German courses and were denied. If you don't play ball then they surely would just stop the payments.

Thank you for that but.. no. It will need to be in class for RAV. And I agree, it will be more motivating for me to be in a class.