8 Study design and methodology

The IC's monitoring of the Swiss labour market is based on the following surveys: Annual survey of a selection of IC-relevant educational institutions at tertiary level (Bachelor/Master) and in the area of further education (MAS, DAS) as well as their student numbers.

Biennial online survey of cinfoPoste users and job seekers in the IC labour market.

Biennial online survey of Swiss IC employers, including Swiss NGOs and companies, international NGOs based in Switzerland and the ICRC. Multilateral organisations such as UNDP and OECD are not included.

Continuous coding of job advertisements on cinfo-

Poste. In addition, web advertisements published by organisations on their own websites.

New concept 2020

After 10 years of IC labour market monitoring, it was redesigned in 2020. The most significant change: the focus has shifted away from “IC professionals”, whose tasks are part of the core work of IC and whose specialist functions require relevant, specific IC training and experience, and towards the entire “IC sector”, including positions with support functions such as fundraising, HR and finance. As a result, the time series from the survey of Swiss IC organisations and the coded job advertisements on cinfoPoste can no longer be meaningfully interpreted and are no longer shown in the report. The focus of the report is on cross-sectional data for the year 2020. Definition of terms and structure of monitoring

HA and DC sub-sectors: IC comprises two distinct sub-sectors, humanitarian aid (HA) and development cooperation (DC). Economic cooperation, peacebuilding and the promotion of human rights are included in the monitoring within the framework of development cooperation.

Local employees/volunteers: The data does not apply to personnel employed on a local contract (irrespective of nationality) or unpaid volunteers. The focus is on positions accessible to Swiss nationals, either based in Switzerland or as expatriates in a country of assignment.

Career changers: “Entry-level” refers to people who apply for positions in IC directly after completing their first tertiary level of education. Career changers have had previous professional experience and move to IC after an initial period of professional work.