Summary
Highly talented apprentices: a social fact? First results of a Swiss longitudinal cross-section study
People observing research into extreme talent soon notice that talent is mainly connotated with academic education, whereas professional talents are a strongly neglected topic. However, the most diverse studies in the past have repeatedly suggested that young people with above-average talents are also to be found in professional training. The article proves this presumption on the basis of the first empirical data material gained from a Swiss longitudinal cross-section study on the courses of training of particularly gifted young people in the professional education system. The proportion of apprentices with an IQ of ≥ 130, thereby regarded as “highly talented” according to the common criterion of general research into talent, is expectedly low at 0.6 %. Nevertheless, there are 6 %, with an IQ of ≥ 120 to ≥ 130, who thereby apply as “above-average talented”. These results thereby legitimise a strong concentration on research into professional talents. However, the IQ alone is unsuitable as an identification criterion, as it is based on the traditional diagnosis of talent and does not take account of the concept of professional talent. In conclusion, a method of identification is therefore presented which fulfils this requirement.