Schweizerisches Zentrum für die Mittelschule/Centre suisse de l'enseignement secondaire II (ZEM CES)

What Schweizerisches Zentrum für die Mittelschule/Centre suisse de l'enseignement secondaire II (ZEM CES) does

ZEM CES (Schweizerisches Zentrum für die Mittelschule / Centre suisse de l'enseignement secondaire II) is a Swiss non-profit support organization headquartered in Bern, with a secondary office in Zurich, that operates under a formal Leistungsvereinbarung with the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Education Directors (EDK) and a Subventionsvertrag with the Swiss Confederation. Founded in 1969 and employing 28 staff, it serves as the federally and cantonally mandated center for Swiss upper secondary education (Sekundarstufe II), covering Gymnasien, Fachmittelschulen (FMS), and Berufsfachschulen. Its core offerings fall into three service lines: Governance Support (Unterstützung Governance) including WEGM reform implementation, NOK demand-oriented coordination of teacher continuing education, the annual Weiterbildungsbarometer, and Bildungsmonitoring; Knowledge & Network (Wissen & Netzwerk) comprising six active cross-cantonal network groups, a Themen-Observatorium, and the Beiträge zur Mittelschule publication series; and Evaluationen & Befragungen delivering external school evaluations via the former IFES IPES team and triennial standardized surveys (SAB and SEB) exposed through an interactive dashboard on dashboard.isurv.ch.

The organization's technology stack is deliberately modest and governance-led: web-based interactive dashboards for standardized survey results, Matomo for site analytics, Microsoft 365 for workplace operations hosted in Swiss and EU data centers, and Datahouse AG and continis.ch as third-party hosting providers. AI is used only internally under strict data-protection controls, with no public-facing AI products. ZEM CES's business model is non-commercial: all activities are funded through public mandates under the EDK performance agreement and the federal subsidy contract, with no pricing, no commercial revenue, and no shareholders. Customers are structural rather than commercial: the 26 cantonal education authorities, the Swiss Confederation, secondary schools that participate in evaluations and surveys, and the practitioners engaged through network groups across all three Swiss language regions. Its position is structurally protected by the EDK mandate, the nationwide trilingual footprint, and the institutional stickiness of its network groups.

Name

Schweizerisches Zentrum für die Mittelschule/Centre suisse de l'enseignement secondaire II (ZEM CES)

Legal name

ZEM CES (Schweizerisches Zentrum für die Mittelschule/Centre suisse de l'enseignement secondaire II)

Website

https://zemces.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ZEM CES is a Swiss federally mandated non-profit that supports Sekundarstufe II (Gymnasien, Fachmittelschulen, Berufsfachschulen) through governance support, WEGM reform implementation, continuing education coordination, network groups, and external school evaluations, serving all 26 Swiss cantons across three language regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

National/State Curriculum & Standards Authorities (EDADAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Curriculum, Standards & Assessment Policy Research (EDADADAH), Subject-Specific Standards & Curriculum Councils (EDADAEAB), Learning Outcomes & Competency Framework Authorities (EDADAEAC)

Keywords

• School quality assurance
• External school evaluation
• Educational monitoring services
• Teacher professional development
• Secondary education governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Public Funding (EDK Leistungsvereinbarung): ZEM CES operates under a performance agreement (Leistungsvereinbarung) with the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Education Directors (EDK) and a subsidy contract with the Swiss Confederation (Bund). All activities are funded through these public mandates rather than commercial revenue.
2. Mandated Services to Cantons and Schools: External school evaluations and standardized surveys are conducted on behalf of cantons and schools. Services include external evaluation of Berufsfachschulen, Gymnasien, and Fachmittelschulen, funded through cantonal commissioning.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ZEM CES provides governance support, external school evaluations, and standardized nationwide surveys for Swiss upper secondary education (Sekundarstufe II). It coordinates teacher professional development through demand-oriented systems (NOK, Weiterbildungsbarometer, Facilitatrices/Facilitateurs network) and operates six thematic network groups (Club_E, Nachteilsausgleich, Fachmittelschulen, LapTabNet, Austausch und Mobilität, Maturitätsarbeit) serving Gymnasien, Fachmittelschulen, and Berufsfachschulen across all Swiss cantons and language regions.

Product overview

ZEM CES (Swiss Center for Upper Secondary Schools and School Evaluation at Secondary Level II) is a Swiss educational support organization that operates as a service platform offering multiple interconnected programs rather than a single software product. The core offerings include: Governance Support services (Unterstützung Governance) encompassing the Weiterentwicklung der Gymnasialen Maturität (WEGM) reform support, Dialog Weiterbildung continuing education coordination, and Bildungsmonitoring educational monitoring; Knowledge & Network services (Wissen & Netzwerk) including various Netzwerkgruppen such as Club_E, Nachteilsausgleich, Fachmittelschulen, LapTabNet, Austausch und Mobilität, and Maturitätsarbeit; and Evaluation & Survey services (Evaluationen & Befragungen) providing external school evaluations and standardized surveys (Ehemaligenbefragung and Abschlussklassenbefragung) with an interactive dashboard. Key monitoring instruments include the annual Weiterbildungsbarometer and NOK reports. The organization also publishes the ZEM CES Beiträge zur Mittelschule series and maintains the Facilitatrices & Facilitateurs network for nationwide coordination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 73 Fachmittelschulen across Switzerland supported by ZEM CES network groups
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• EDK (Erziehungsdirektorenkonferenz / Conférence des-directeurs cantonaux de l'instruction publique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZEM CES operates under a formal Leistungsvereinbarung (performance agreement) with the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Education Directors (EDK). EDK provides the primary institutional mandate and funding framework. ZEM CES supports EDK in questions related to the promotion and development of Gymnasium and Fachmittelschulen and reports to the EDK Generalsekretariat.
• Schweizerische Mittelschulämterkonferenz (SMAK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMAK is the conference of heads of cantonal upper secondary school authorities. ZEM CES receives mandates from SMAK, reports on Bildungsmonitoring to SMAK and the EDK Generalsekretariat, and collaborates on WEGM reform implementation. SMAK commissioned ZEM CES to conduct the Nachteilsausgleich report.
• Schweizer Zentrum für Heil- und Sonderpädagogik (SZH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSZH is an EDK partner agency. ZEM CES and SZH jointly lead the Nachteilsausgleich network group, co-coordinating questions and case examples for students with disabilities at the Sekundarstufe II level. Both organizations share expertise on inclusive education measures.
• MovetiamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMovetia is the Swiss agency for exchange and mobility. ZEM CES collaborates with Movetia to promote a mobility culture at Swiss secondary schools, advises schools on the Sprachassistenzprogramm and project submissions, and co-produced the 'Gruppenaustausch an Mittelschulen' publication.
• Arbeitsgruppe Umsetzung MAR/MAV und RLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThis working group brings together representatives from SMAK, KSGR (Swiss Conference of Gymnasium Rectors), VSG (Association of Swiss Gymnasium Teachers), ZEM CES, and the EDK Generalsekretariat's Sekundarstufe II division. ZEM CES implements the group's proposals into concrete activities for WEGM reform support.
• Konferenz der Rectoren und Rectorinnen schweizerischer Fachmittelschulen (KFMS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZEM CES maintains close collaboration with KFMS, participating in KFMS working days and annual meetings to directly track current developments affecting Fachmittelschulen. ZEM CES ensures FMS perspectives are included across all its topic areas.
• Interkantonale Hochschule für Heilpädagogik (Hfh.ch)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZEM CES links to HfH research on Sekundarstufe II pathways with Nachteilsausgleich and disability accommodations, referencing their research on career trajectories of students with disabilities at the upper secondary level.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Schweizer Zentrum für Heil- und Sonderschulung (SZH/CSPS): EDK partner agency focused on special/inclusive education in Switzerland; operates under the same EDK Leistungsvereinbarung framework as ZEM CES and co-leads the Nachteilsausgleich network group. Directly comparable mandate, governance model, and public funding structure.
• SDBB | CSFO (Schweizerisches Dienstleistungszentrum Berufsbildung): National service center for vocational education and career guidance in Switzerland; comparable mandate of providing nationwide coordination, information, and quality support services for a defined education sector, funded through public mandate.
• EHB/IFFP/IUPS (Eidg. Hochschulinstitut für Berufsbildung): Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training; comparable structure as a federally mandated body supporting quality, research, and coordination in a defined education segment (vocational education vs. ZEM CES' upper secondary academic track).
• SKBF | CSRE (Schweizerische Koordinationsstelle für Bildungsforschung): Swiss Coordination Center for Research in Education; operates as a national platform coordinating educational research and providing Bildungsmonitoring-style reporting across Swiss cantons, directly comparable to ZEM CES' monitoring and evidence-synthesis functions.

Broad incumbents

• EDK (Schweizerische Konferenz der kantonalen Erziehungsdirektoren): Governing body of cantonal education ministers and ZEM CES' principal mandating authority; operates the broader inter-canton policy framework within which ZEM CES executes its mandate. Not a competitor but the institutional umbrella that defines ZEM CES' scope.
• SBFI / SERI (Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation): Swiss federal State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation; the federal counterpart authority that co-funds ZEM CES via the Subventionsvertrag and operates adjacent oversight functions across higher education, vocational education, and research.
• BIBB (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, Germany): German federal institute for vocational education and training; international peer operating a comparable mandate of research, policy advice, and quality support for upper secondary / vocational education at a national level.

Others

• Movetia: Swiss national agency for exchange and mobility in education; strategic partner of ZEM CES on the Austausch & Mobilität network group and co-producer of Mittelschule mobility publications. Comparable federal-mandate structure but different thematic focus.
• Eurydice (European Education Information Network): European network providing comparative structural information on education systems; thematically adjacent to ZEM CES' Bildungsmonitoring function but operating at supranational scope rather than single-country execution.
• OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: International policy and benchmarking body whose PISA, TALIS, and Education at a Glance outputs overlap directly with ZEM CES' Bildungsmonitoring and Weiterbildungsbarometer mandates; operates at a much broader scale but provides the comparative reference framework ZEM CES uses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zem-ces
• YouTubeyoutube.com/v/oygTyxP7h9c

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Schweizerisches Zentrum für die Mittelschule/Centre suisse de l'enseignement secondaire II (ZEM CES)