Monopoly training programs are an almost entirely unknown area of the Swiss vocational education landscape. They are generally considered deficient and thus hardly capable of conveying modern professional skills. Until now, there has been a lack of thorough scientific examination of this topic; this dissertation aims to fill that gap. Using the example of the training of Swiss customs personnel, the author illustrates the characteristics that define a monopoly training program and how its modernization process unfolds. This is based on a solid historical, didactic, and educational policy-economic analysis, as well as the presentation of key modernization themes in vocational education such as general education, professional action competence, employability, rationalization, and differentiation. However, this work also goes beyond the topic of monopoly training programs to address current approaches, themes, and questions in vocational education, thus providing a comprehensive overview, particularly of the current state of higher vocational education in Switzerland.