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May 2015

Inventory ofwatchmaking

trainingin Switzerland

2015

Inventory of watchmaking training in Switzerland | May 2015

Inventory of watchmaking training in Switzerland | May 2015 1

Training oils the wheels of Swiss watchmakingWith a workforce of some sixty thousand, the Swiss watch sector is depleted by a third compared with its pre-quartz heyday, yet has grown by more than 50% since 2000 with exports soaring above a record CHF 20 billion. In other words, Swiss watchmaking is doing considerably more with less. The sector has been hiring in droves over the past ten years, with a corresponding and exponen-tial increase in sales. Several reasons explain the robust health of a sector that has carved out a dominant position in mechanical watchmaking: cutting-edge research, total command of indus-trial production, close working relations with university laboratories, and established training programmes that supply qualified workers at every level.

Indeed, Swiss watchmaking can count on the country’s internationally renowned universities or hautes écoles. They include École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and Haute École Arc, part of Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale. They train the engineers who go on to work in R&D at Swiss watchmaking firms. The country’s écoles supérieures are another hotbed of recruitment. Their technicians provide the core of competencies without which industrial produc-tion cannot function. The Swiss watch industry also benefits from a well-organised system of initial training for young school-leavers.

This system has grown out of the very first watchmaking schools that opened in Switzerland in the early 1800s. Because of its early success on international markets, Swiss watchmaking offered excel-lent career opportunities and this factor has, to a large extent, also benefited the development of training in the professions of time measurement. The federal authorities too have been active in developing training programmes for an industry that weighs heavily in the national economy. Apprenticeship, a characteristic feature of the Swiss education system that shares learning between the classroom and the workplace, is another valuable asset that must be preserved. For an industry that builds on tradition and innovation, passing on skills and knowledge has become as important as the actual skills themselves. Something Swiss watchmaking has never forgotten.

Christophe Roulet


Learning to be a watchmaker a brief historyHow did instruction in watchmaking originate in Switzerland, and why did certain regions become centres for this transfer of expertise? As a general rule, this type of instruction tends to develop close to production sites which, in the case of watchmaking, were Geneva, around the Jura and Neuchâtel mountains, and Schaffhausen.

In Geneva, the guild of watchmakers (Corporation des Horlogers), established in 1601, set out the rules of the profession, including the rules that governed apprenticeships and the quality of instruction given to apprentices. A master watchmaker was allowed to take only one apprentice at a time. Over a period of five years, he would teach the different skills of the profession, and pass on the knowledge and methods he had himself acquired. As early as the seventeenth century, ties were formed between watchmakers in Geneva and their counterparts in Pays de Vaud, who would welcome apprentices from Geneva into their workshops in Le Brassus or Le Sentier to complete their training there. In the Neuchâtel mountains, apprenticeship contracts had to be registered with a notary, and examples exist of contracts dating back to the early 1700s.

The first Swiss school of watchmaking opened in Geneva in 1824, followed by others in La Chaux-de-Fonds (1865), Saint-Imier (1866), Le Locle (1868), Neuchâtel (1871), Biel (1872), Fleurier (1875) and Le Sentier in Vallée-de-Joux (1901).

Watchmaking developed in Porrentruy and Solothurn in a very different context. In the 1840s, measures were taken in Porrentruy to boost the local economy through the introduction of watch-making firms. At the same time, a school of watchmaking was opened to instruct poor children and orphans in the watchmaking professions. The town of Solothurn was similarly deprived of a watch-making industry and, in response, laid the foundations for a school that would provide instruction to persons in greatest need. These developments should be seen in the wider context of a country steeped in poverty, which in the mid-nineteenth century drove many Swiss citizens to emigrate to the United States.

Schaffhausen was briefly home to a school of watchmaking, from 1856 to 1860. It was here, on the banks of the River Rhine, that the American engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones settled in 1868, and founded International Watch Co. To help bring his project to fruition, he enjoyed the financial backing and guidance of the watchmaker Heinrich Moser (1805-1874), a native of Schaffhausen and the son and grandson of watchmakers. Since 1968, Manufacture IWC has had its own school of watchmaking which maintains a regular intake of some forty apprentices per enrolment.

4 Inventory of watchmaking training in Switzerland | May 2015

Competition from the United StatesThe cohabitation between American and Swiss watchmaking wasn’t always as smooth as in the case of IWC and its arrival in Schaffhausen. Indeed, during the second half of the nineteenth century, competition was rife between the two countries’ watchmakers. Certain Swiss entrepreneurs had embraced the latest innovations in production, such as Urs Schild who in the 1860s installed automatic lathes at his Fabrique d’Ebauches. Despite this, American firms began to inch ahead of their Swiss counterparts in both production and training.

For example:

École d’arts appliqués, La Chaux-de-FondsSwitzerland’s first school of applied arts was opened in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1873, shortly after the town’s school of watchmaking had begun to teach drawing. It came about through an initiative among employers who wished to train their workers in engraving, enamel painting and gem-setting. The objective was also to improve the quality of work proposed by watch manufacturers in La Chaux-de-Fonds which, like elsewhere in Switzerland, were hard-hit by competition from American firms who were decorating their pocket watches with great care and imagination.

École d’horlogerie, Saint-ImierIt’s a well-known story: in 1876, the Swiss engineer Jacques David, then technical manager for Longines in Saint-Imier, travelled to Philadel-phia in the United States to visit the World’s Fair. Here he observed how companies had developed mechanised production of standard-ised watch parts, resulting in considerably more reliable and cheaper American-made timepieces. Well aware of the implications this could have for the Swiss watch industry, David set about developing a programme to modernise vocational teaching in Switzerland.

The following is an extract from a letter addressed by the Commission of the Saint-Imier watchmaking school to the Canton’s Home Affairs

Office, dated January 5th 1878: “Over the past two years, the majority of young men who have come to us have applied themselves to each of the school’s classes and thus prepared themselves to become accomplished workers and future foremen capable of preserving our watchmaking tradition and bringing about the transformations which American competition imposes.” (SOURCE:

ÉCOLE D’HORLOGERIE DE SAINT-IMIER BY PIERRE-YVES DONZÉ IN DIX ECOLES D’HORLOGERIE SUISSE, EDITIONS SIMONIN)

As a member of the school Commission, Jacques David was able to push through his reforms. New tools were acquired as of 1879, including two lathes. The school was also the beneficiary of a donation from Longines “to be used specifically to perfect the range of tools.” (Source: Coll. Mémoires d’Ici, minutes of the Commission meeting, October 2nd 1879). Further donations from Longines were used to purchase more new machines so that the school could adapt its teaching to the production methods that were now current in watchmaking factories.

The school also taught pupils about American methods, the then reference in mechanised produc-tion. In 1887 the Commission made a request to the Société Intercantonale des Industries du Jura that it donate its collection of American-made movements to the watchmaking schools. Three years later, the school purchased new American-made movements to use as part of apprentices’ instruction.

A new parts-making class, introduced in 1896, proved highly popular. Between 1896 and 1920, 32% of apprentices chose this specialisation. In the wake of this success, another new class opened in 1912 for régleuses or balance-spring fitters.

Watch cases produced at École d’Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds, 1906.© Collections du Musée international d’horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds


FOUR AMERICAN WATCH BRANDS, ESTABLISHED IN THE LATE 1800S, WITH TIES TO SWISS WATCHMAKING

The American Waltham Watch Company was founded in 1850 in Roxbury, Massa-chusetts, to manufacture movement parts with sufficient precision to make them perfectly interchangeable. By 1859 the company had become the biggest supplier of railroad chronometers. A pioneer in automated production, the company was awarded a Gold Medal in the first international watch precision competition. Indeed, the advances made by American watchmakers were a cause for concern in Switzerland, as confirmed in the report drafted by Jacques David, technical manager for Longines. Waltham ceased trading in the United States in 1957, having first set up a subsidiary in Switzerland: Waltham International SA. During its one-hundred-year existence in the United States, the brand produced some 40 million quality watches, clocks and speed-ometers. Each movement is inscribed with a serial number, which can be consulted using the Waltham Memorial search engine.

Bulova Watch Company was established in 1875 in New York City by Joseph Bulova. It opened its first factory mass-producing standardised watch parts in Biel, Switzerland, in 1912. It now belongs to Citizen Watch Co (Japan).

A. Wittnauer Company was founded in 1890 in New York City by Eugene Robert, an importer of Swiss watches and brother-in-law to Albert Wittnauer. The company’s watches earned a reputation for reliability among explorers and astronomers, as well as the US Navy which used them in early aviation tests. In 1918 it invented the first “AllProof ” watch. It is now part of Bulova.

Hamilton Watch Company was founded in December 1892 in Pennsylvania. The majority of Hamilton watches made in the 1920s were equipped with a mainspring that provided a 42-hour power reserve. In 1931 the brand patented the Elinvar (a contraction of “élasticité invariable”) balance spring, later used for all American-made movements. The Hamilton name was later transferred to Biel, where the company worked with Büren Watch Co. Since 1985 it has belonged to Swatch Group under the name Hamilton International SA.

SOURCE: WIKIPÉDIA


Parts-making, a new branch of trainingAs part of their efforts to modernise training, Swiss watchmaking schools gradually introduced parts-making classes to their curricula:

– In 1880, the new director of the École d’horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds purchased machine-tools for the school’s workshops. In 1886, under Paul Berner, a parts-making class opened. A year later the school was renamed École d’Horlogerie et de Mécanique.

– In 1881, the École d’horlogerie in Biel set up a small parts-making workshop for students who, early on in their apprenticeship, learned how to file parts and work a lathe. A few years later it opened a full-fledged class. This required a complete reorganisation of the school and led to the creation, in 1890, of the Technicum.

– In May 1877, a conference of directors of Swiss watchmaking schools recommended that the École d’horlogerie in Geneva set up a parts-making class whose teaching corresponded to working conditions in the watch industry. As well as training parts-makers, this new class served as an introduction for future watchmakers.

– In 1892, the École d’horlogerie in Fleurier was restructured and, in 1896, a new parts-making class was opened. This would develop into the École de Mécanique.

– In 1904, the École d’horlogerie in Porrentruy purchased automatic lathes to train watchmakers in parts-making.

La Chaux-de-Fonds watchmaking school, Blank-making class circa 1900© Collections du Musée international d’horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds


Wostep (Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program)In the 1960s, in response to a request made by the American government, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) and Ébauche SA (ETA) developed a training programme for American and Canadian watchmakers. These two bodies based the programme on the apprenticeship model in place since the early seventeenth century in Geneva, Vaud and Neuchâtel. In the 1950s there were still some forty watchmaking schools in the United States. Some twenty years later this number had fallen to just twelve, reflecting the gradual disappearance of the American watch industry. Already in the 1960s, the country had lost its status as the world’s biggest producer of watches, the first sign of a slow decline and ultimately the end of production. In 1965, twelve American and Canadian students took the first one-year course. A year later, the Wostep school opened in Neuchâtel with André Farine as director.

Students in the watchmaker-repairer class at the Technicum in Le Locle, circa 1951

Increases in watch production haven’t necessarily led to a corresponding increase in training opportunities, something we can still observe today. At certain times, training has even been seen to decline as production has expanded. In the nineteenth century, for example, watchmaking was a thriving industry in Le Locle, attracting a massive influx of workers, yet apprenticeships failed to keep pace with demand.

BIBLIOGRAPHIE:

– DIX ÉCOLES D’HORLOGERIE SUISSES – CHEFS-D’ŒUVRE DE SAVOIR-FAIRE, EDITIONS SIMONIN;

– RÉFLEXIONS SUR LE CONTENU DES APPRENTISSAGES DE L’HORLOGERIE AU 18e SIÈCLE PAR ESTELLE FALLET, INSTITUT L’HOMME

ET LE TEMPS, LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS;

– HEINRICH MOSER (1805–1874): INTERNATIONALER UHRENFABRIKANT – VISIONÄRER INDUSTRIEPIONIER PAR ROGER

NICHOLAS BALSIGER, VEREIN FÜR WIRTSCHAFTSHISTORISCHE STUDIEN BAND 85, ZÜRICH, 2007

CRÉDIT PHOTOGRAPHIQUE:

– MUSÉE INTERNATIONAL D’HORLOGERIE, LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS

– MUSÉE D’HORLOGERIE DU LOCLE, CHÂTEAU DES MONTS

© Musée d’horlogerie du Locle


Training todayThe legal framework for vocational training in SwitzerlandSince the 1930s, vocational training has been regulated at federal level. The Loi fédérale sur la formation professionnelle voted on December 13th 2002 came into force on January 1st 2004. It pertains to:

– initial vocational training, including the maturité professionnelle fédérale (high school diploma)– advanced vocational training– continuing education in a vocational field– qualification procedures, certificates and diplomas awarded– training of persons in charge of vocational training– competencies and principles in vocational, educational and careers orientation– the Swiss Confederation’s contribution to the cost of vocational training

The second main regulatory text is the Ordonnance sur la formation professionnelle voted on November 19th 2003, which also came into force on January 1st 2004.

The new decree governing initial vocational training in watchmaking came into force in the first quarter of 2015. It concerns the seven watchmaking professions covering 13 branches in movement production, micro-mechanics and external parts production.


The vocational training systemThere are three levels of vocational training in Switzerland. These are initial (secondary) training, training for adults including continuing education, and advanced (tertiary) training in colleges, universities of applied science, institutes of technology and universities.

1 Initial vocational training provides the theory and expertise required to practice a given profession. A two-year course leads to a federal vocational education and training (VET) certifi-cate (Attestation fédérale de formation professionnelle AFP). A three or four-year course leads to a federal vocational education and training diploma (Certificat fédéral de capacité CFC). A federal VET diploma can be completed by a maturité professionnelle technique or a maturité professionnelle artistique, thanks to which students can complete their vocational skills with more general studies.

2 Advanced vocational training qualifies individuals to practice complex activities with a high level of responsibility. Holders of a federal VET diploma with several years’ on-the-job experience can obtain formal attestation of their skills by sitting the federal professional education and training diploma (brevet fédéral) in their area of specialisation. Advanced training allows holders of a federal VET diploma to train in a specialist field and, if they wish, earn a management qualifica-tion. Holders of a federal VET diploma and a maturité professionnelle can enrol at a university of applied sciences in their given specialisation. Holders of a maturité gymnasiale have the choice between a Bachelor’s degree at a university of applied science after one year’s work experience in their chosen field, or a course at a federal institute of technology.

3 Adult training is aimed at three categories of persons: adults who are already employed in the watch sector and wish to develop their skills, adult job-seekers, and adults working in another sector who wish to retrain and work in the watch sector.

Watchmaking schools function as vocational schools (école professionnelle) and trade schools (école de métiers) for initial training:

1 CEJEF – Technical Division – Porrentruy (JU) École Professionnelle Technique and École des Métiers Techniques

2 BBZ – CFP – Biel (BE) École Professionnelle and Lycée Technique

3 CFPT – Ecole d’horlogerie de Genève (GE)

4 École technique CIFOM-ET – Le Locle (NE) École Professionnelle Technique and Lycée d’Enseignement Professionnel

5 École technique de la Vallée de Joux (ETVJ) – Le Sentier (VD)

6 ZeitZentrum Uhrmacherschule – Grenchen (SO)

7 École d’arts appliqués CIFOM-EAA – La Chaux-de-Fonds (NE) Full-time course in watch engraving and vocational school for engraving apprentices.


The following watchmaking schools provide advanced vocational training for microtechnicians:

1 CFPT – Ecole d’horlogerie de Genève

2 École Supérieure du canton de Neuchâtel, Domaine Technique CIFOM-ET – Le Locle

3 École Supérieure de la Vallée de Joux – Le Sentier

The École Supérieure Technique (CEJEF) – Technical Division in Porrentruy runs courses with applications in the watch industry. They are a two-year course or a workplace training course lasting three years in Industrial Systems, and a workplace training course lasting three years in Industrial Processes.

The École Supérieure du canton de Neuchâtel, Domaine des Arts – CIFOM-EAA – La Chaux-de-Fonds provides a course in watch design leading to an advanced diploma in product design.


Initial vocational training: apprenticeshipsWorkplace training – apprenticeshipsApprenticeship, which shares training between the workplace and the classroom (also known as “dual training”), remains a widespread form of initial training in watchmaking and the métiers d’art. In 2014, apprenticeship contracts in the seven watchmaking professions accounted for 43% of the

472 new contracts for initial training. Workplace training is delivered in the workplace for hands-on learning and at a vocational school for theory and general educa-tion. The workplace can be a watchmaking firm, a watch retailer or an independent workshop.

Hands-on training in the company is under the super-vision of one or more experienced professionals. The student or apprentice familiarises himself or herself with the tools and, by observing and repeating, learns the skills and rules of the trade.

Both IWC in Schaffhausen and Vacheron Constantin in Geneva have their own apprenticeship programmes. At IWC, 41 apprentices are currently in training, specifically one watchmaker, 21 watchmakers in industry, 3 polymechanics, 4 surface finishers, one electroplater and 2 components drafters, together with 6 sales apprentices and 3 apprentices in IT. Vacheron Constantin trains around thirty apprentice watchmakers. On the Campus Genevois de Haute

Horlogerie, a Richemont Group initiative, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels have committed to training watch fitters and watchmakers for a total of 25 apprentices. They will be joined by apprentice micro-mechanics. Other manufactures in the canton of Geneva, such as Chopard, Patek Philippe and Rolex, also train apprentice watchmakers and surface finishers.

The apprenticeship workshop at Manufacture IWC© IWC Schaffhausen


The apprenticeship contractIn Switzerland, any apprentice working towards a federal VET certificate or diploma must have an apprenticeship contract (Swiss Code des Obligations, art. 344-346a). For a contract to be legally binding, it must be in written form and approved by the relevant authorities for the Canton (HTTP://WWW.CA.FORMATIONPROF.CH)

A federal VET certificate (AFP) is awarded after two years, following exams in theory and practice. A federal VET diploma (CFC) is awarded after three or four years, again following exams in theory and practice. Of the total 385 AFP and CFC qualifications that were awarded in Switzerland in 2013, 41% went to apprentice watch fitters, watchmakers, micro-mechanics, component drafters or surface finishers at the end of workplace training. Also in 2013, 40.5% of the 437 new apprenticeship contracts were for workplace training. In 2014, 472 new contracts were signed. (CONVENTION PATRONALE DE L’INDUSTRIE HORLOGÈRE SUISSE, MARCH 12TH 2015)

The following professions can be learned through workplace training:

SUBJECT YEARS

Mechanical operator AFP 2 years

Production mechanic CFC 3 years

Micro-mechanic CFC (new decree which came into force on January 2013) 4 years

Option: production of parts on CNC machines

Option: prototype

Option: stamping and moulding

Option: precision-turning

Components drafter CFC (new decree) 4 years

Watch fitter AFP (decree adapted to new training in movement adjustment) 2 years

Production watchmaker CFC (new decree) 3 years

Watchmaker CFC (new decree) 4 years

Polisher AFP 2 years

Surface finisher CFC 3 years

Surface treatment technician AFP 2 years

Electroplater CFC 3 years

Jeweller CFC 4 years

Engraver CFC 4 years


The 7 professions and 13 branches in watchmaking:

MOVEMENTS YEARS

Watch Fitter AFP 2 yearsSpecialisation in AssemblySpecialisation in Adjustment

Production Watchmaker CFC 3 years

Watchmaker CFC 4 yearsSpecialisation in Restoration and RepairSpecialisation in Industrial Methods

MICRO-MECHANICS

Components Drafter CFC 4 years2 options as of the 3rd year: Stamping/Moulding and Prototype

Micro-mechanic CFC 4 years4 options as of the 3rd year: Component Production on CNC machines, Stamping/Moulding, Prototype, Precision Turning

EXTERNAL PARTS

Polisher AFP 2 years

Surface Finisher CFC 3 years

AFP = Federal vocational education and training certificateCFC = Federal vocational education and training diploma

Study programme for micro-mechanics and watchmakers at a vocational schoolAcademic study for micro-mechanics is spread over four years, as stipulated in the training plan introduced in January 2013. Vocational skills in the fourth year are geared to the student’s chosen option: CNC, Precision-turning, Stamping/Moulding or Prototype:

SUBJECT N° OF HOURS

1 Vocational skills:

Organisation and preparation 520

Production 460

Quality control 40

Machines and tools maintenance 80

Application of health, safety and environmental regulations 20

Total 1,120

2 General education 480

3 Sport 200

Total theory lessons 1,800


Academic study for watch fitters over two years, as stipulated in the training plan introduced in March 2015:


1 Vocational skills

Manufacture of watchmaking tools 130

Assembling components comprising 210

job-specific skills

Application of health, safety, and environmental regulations

Observation of production standards 60

Total 400


3 Sport 80

Total theory lessons 720

Academic study for production watchmakers over three years, as stipulated in the training plan introduced in March 2015:




Application of health, safety, and environmental regulations (20)

Assembling components 370

Finishing and adjusting 90

Participation in the production process 140

Vocational skills total 880


3 Sport 120


Academic study for watchmakers over four years, as stipulated in the training plan intro-duced in March 2015. Vocational skills in the third and fourth years are geared to the student’s chosen option: Restoration and repair or Industrial methods:




Application of health, safety, and environmental regulations (20)

Assembling components 415

Finishing and adjusting 90

Activity within an after-sales service 345

implementing analyses 310

Vocational skills total 1,440


3 Sport 160



Inter-company coursesThe federal decree on vocational training requires apprentices to complete their training with inter-company courses. Inter-company courses for watchmakers and production watchmakers, for example, cover 64 days of training over two years and three cycles. All first-year apprentice watchmakers are given an initiation in micro-mechanics over 32 days, during which they learn to choose and handle the tools used to manufacture watch parts. Second-year apprentices follow two courses: the first on pivoting and the second on adjusting.

Since 2008, inter-company courses have come under the responsibility of trade bodies within the Cantons. In French-speaking Switzerland, the Union des Fabricants d’Horlogerie de Genève, Vaud et Valais (UFGVV) and the Association Patronale de l’Horlogerie et de la Microtechnique (APHM) in Biel are responsible for these course and their funding, which comes mainly from subsidies awarded by the Swiss Confederation and the Cantons. The Zeitzentrum in Grenchen (SO), which is in charge of academic teaching for all German-speaking Switzerland, is also in charge of inter-company courses for the region.

All apprentice polishers and surface finishers in the Cantons of Berne, Geneva and Neuchâtel take inter-company courses at the Centre de Formation Continue in Bassecourt (JU).

© Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin has made training and imparting expertise a tradition since 1755, and continues to welcome, at its Manufacture and head office in Plan-les Ouates, some thirty apprentices in highly specialised fields of watchmaking and the métiers d’art.


Initial vocational training :trade schoolsTraining at trade schoolsFull-time training for micro-mechanics, component drafters, watchmakers and production watch-makers is given at trade schools (école de métiers). Jewellers and engravers attend courses at a school of applied arts. Alongside practical training, these students attend the same theory and general education classes as apprentices in workplace training. The Lycée Technique in Biel runs a full-time course for watch fitters studying for a federal VET certificate.

Training for watch fitters (federal VET certificate)In preparation for this new branch of training, between 2007 and 2010 the École Technique in Vallée-de-Joux and École Technique in Le Locle ran pilot courses for watch fitters studying for a federal VET certificate. The first decree for this profession came into force in 2010 and was adopted five years later to take into account the new specialisation in adjustment. Previously this was taught at a private training centre, the École du Réglage in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Watch fitters have traditionally learned their trade through a combina-tion of workplace and classroom training (“dual training”). Recently, however, a full-time course has been introduced at the Lycée Technique in Biel.

In 2014, 50 federal VET certificates were awarded to young watch fitters (Source: Convention Patronale, march 2015). The full-time, two-year course at the Lycée Technique in Biel is intended to appeal to young people who are manually adept, and help make up the shortfall of apprenticeship places for watch fitters in Biel. This has proved a highly successful initiative: 115 people applied for the 12 places on the course for the 2013/2014 academic year. Because the authorities for the Canton of Berne have obliged the Lycée to cut its teaching budget, the school is unable to increase its student intake.

Class of watchmakers at the Geneva watchmaking school© Ecole d’horlogerie de Genève


Training for production watchmakers (federal VET diploma)The new decree governing initial vocational training for a production watchmaker, which lasts three years, came into force in March 2015. The production watchmaker assembles components in electronic and mechanical movements. These can be simple movements, movements with small complications, or chronograph movements. He or she is also responsible for finishing and adjusting, fitting and casing, and performs quality controls at every stage in production to make any necessary adjustments. He or she also ensures that production lines are operating in accord-ance with the company’s quality standards.

The production watchmaker can train either as an apprentice or as a full-time student at one of the six watchmaking schools. The first two years of teaching follow a common core with the four-year course leading to a federal VET watchmaker diploma.

Training for watchmakers (federal VET diploma)

The new decree on initial vocational training for watchmakers, which came into force on March 1st 2015, offers students the choice between training in restoration and repair, and training in industrial methods. The chosen specialisation is defined by the host company, before training begins, and specified in the apprenticeship contract. During the first two years, the apprentice watchmaker acquires the same skills as a production watchmaker: he or she assembles components in electronic and mechanical movements, and is responsible for finishing and adjusting, fitting and casing.In the third year, training is geared towards the apprentice’s specialisation. Students specialising

in restoration and repair learn to service and repair mechanical and electronic clocks and watches. They also learn the skills required to work in customer after-sales. Students specialising in industrial methods focus on optimisation of production and on laboratory analyses.

Since 2006 in the Canton of Vaud, persons with a maturité gymnasiale (high school diploma) that wish to train as a production watchmaker can benefit from a two-year programme that enables them to move more quickly to an advanced level. This course covers the same theory and practice as the official study programme, without the general education classes and certain scientific subjects. Vaud is the only Canton to facilitate access to advanced training in this way.

Students in the watchmaker class at the Geneva watchmaking school

In 2013, 154 federal VET diplomas were awarded to young watchmakers (“production watch-makers CFC” since the introduction of the new decree): 76 to apprentices completing workplace training and 78 to students completing full-time study.

74 federal VET diplomas were awarded to watchmaker-repairers (now “watchmakers CFC”): 10 to apprentices completing workplace training and 64 to students completing full-time study.

SOURCE: CONVENTION PATRONALE DE L’INDUSTRIE HORLOGÈRE SUISSE, FEBRUARY 2014

© Ecole d’horlogerie de Genève


The 2013-2014 academic yearCertain professions in the watchmaking sector attract large numbers of young men and women, not all of whom will be offered a place in a school. The figures below, which concern full-time classroom study, show the huge gap between the number of candidates and actual capacity:

– Lycée Technique in Biel has 196 students in full-time training. It received 115 applications for the 12 places on its watch fitter course, and 78 applications for the 12 places on its watchmaker-repairer course.

– École des Métiers Techniques in Porrentruy has 120 students of which 80 student watchmakers. It received 50 applications including 27 for its watchmaker course.

– École d’Horlogerie in Geneva has 132 full-time student watchmakers and 48 full-time micro-mechanic students. It received 180 applications in total for the 36 places on its watchmaker/watchmaker-repairer course and 12 places on its micro-mechanic course.

– École Technique in Le Locle delivers full-time training for production mechanics, micro-mechanics, component drafters, watchmakers and watchmaker-repairers. It received just under 100 applications for a maximum intake of 24 new students across these four courses.

– École Technique in Vallée-de-Joux has 166 students in full-time training. It received just under 200 first-year applications for a total of 54 places: 12 for micro-mechanics, 32 for watchmakers (of which 26 for the three-year course and 6 for the intensive, two-year course), 4 for component drafters and 6 for jewellers.

Number of federal VET diplomas and certificates awarded between 1984 and 2014 for polishers, surface finishers, component drafters, micro-mechanics, watchmakers, watchmakers in industry and watchmaker-repairers: 1984 – 137 diplomas and certificates1994 – 108 diplomas and certificates2004 – 194 diplomas and certificates2013 – 349 diplomas and certificates2014 – 281 diplomas and certificates

SOURCE: CONVENTION PATRONALE DE L’INDUSTRIE HORLOGÈRE SUISSE, MARCH 2015


End-of-study watchFour of the Swiss watchmaking schools offer students the possibility to present an end-of-study watch, which must be entirely their own work

The École Technique in Vallée-de-Joux has its own end-of-study watch, which dates back to 1915. Students at the École d’Horlogerie in Geneva work on an L.U.C. EHG pocket watch calibre which the school developed in collaboration with Manufacture Chopard. The Zeitzentrum also has its own end-of-study watch. At the École Technique in Le Locle, two teachers are developing a small pendule d’officier (a type of carriage clock) which should ultimately become the end-of-study watch for the school. At the present time, it appears students can only work within certain limits on the movements donated by companies in the region, as the study programme does not allow sufficient time for them to produce a complete watchs

The Wostep school has also developed its watch, worked on by Wostep students around the world.

School projectsA number of watchmaking schools develop projects with partners that give their students the oppor-tunity to restore antique clocks or build a timepiece from scratch. Certain of these initiatives, jointly implemented with public bodies or companies in the private sector, have attained international status. Students at École des Métiers Techniques in Porrentruy took part in two such prestigious

projects. The first, from several years ago, involved students from Porrentruy and their counterparts from Lycée Edgar Faure in Morteau, France. Together, they helped restore a planetary clock from the Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg. The second project concerned a monumental clock which was presented as a gift from the Republic and Canton of Jura to the City of Quebec in September 2014. Components for the movement were made by students at the technical college in Porrentruy.

Students from seven Centres de Formation Professionnelle (vocational training centres) in the Canton of Geneva took part in an ambitious project aimed at demonstrating the high standard of professional training in the Canton. Students in micro-mechanics and watchmaking at École d’Horlogerie de Genève, alongside trainee jewellers at the Centre de Formation Professionnelle Arts Appliqués, designed, developed and made a skeleton watch, which they named Genèse. Contributions from the five other Centres were to develop a multimedia concept and logo for the watch; define a brand image and communication strategy; make the presentation box and display stand; and organise the gala evening for the unveiling of the watch. The Genèse watch is part of commemorations for the two-hundredth anniversary of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.

End-of-study watch © Ecole d’horlogerie de Genève

Planetary clock from St.Petersburg, inscribed “Exécuté par Joseph Dupressoir à Paris”© CEJEF – Division technique Section horlogerie, Porrentruy


Maturité professionnelle techniqueThis certificate gives apprentices and students who already hold a federal VET diploma a higher level of training and general education which will qualify them for the various courses offered by universities of applied sciences.

There are two options, or “systems”, open to students wishing to take their maturitéprofessionnelle technique (MPT):

• The integrated system allows students to obtain their MPT at the same time as their federal VET diploma over three years. This adds an additional half-day of theory classes per week which, depending on the school, will come to either two or two and a half days per week. If, at the end of the three-year course, the apprentice or student fails the MPT exam, he or she can sit it again the following year, provided they have passed their federal VET diploma.

The integrated system is offered at the Lycée Technique in Biel, École d’Horlogerie in Geneva, École Technique in Le Locle, École Technique in Vallée-de-Joux and the Zeitzentrum in Grenchen.

At the Lycée Technique in Biel, applicants whose grades at the end of compulsory education qualify them to study at a Gymnase (roughly Key Stage 5 in the UK / high school in the US) can go straight into the integrated system without having to sit an entrance exam..

At the École d’Horlogerie in Geneva, students applying for the production watchmaker course must have completed their final year of upper secondary school. Applicants whose parents are Genevese or pay taxes in the Canton take priority.

At the École Technique in Le Locle, students applying for the production watchmaker course must have completed their final year of compulsory education. Students applying for the four-year components drafter course (integrated system) must meet the same standards at the end of the first semester as for secondary-school Year 11.

At the École Technique in Vallée-de-Joux, students whose grades at the end of compulsory education qualify them for post-compulsory education in the Canton of Vaud are admitted without sitting an entrance exam.

At the Zeitzentrum, apprentice watchmakers in industry and apprentice or student watchmaker-repairers with good school grades can prepare their maturité professionnelle.

All schools require students to sit a theory exam, an aptitude test and to have an individual interview.

• Under the additional system students first obtain their federal VET diploma, then prepare for their MPT through either one year of full-time study or two years of part-time study.

At the Technical Division in Porrentruy, this option is available to watchmakers, component drafters and micro-mechanics to encourage students to follow advanced vocational training while guaranteeing all-round practical training. Exceptionally, and provided they have obtained an average grade of 4.8 or more, students at the École des Métiers Techniques can complete their federal VET diploma studies in three years and use the fourth year to study full-time for their MPT.

The Lycée Technique in Biel proposes the additional system as an alternative to the integrated system for students who have achieved good or excellent grades at the Lycée Technique and are strong in maths, English and French. Other students can take lessons to prepare for the entrance exam.


Métiers d’artAs the situation stands, in Switzerland only the crafts of jeweller, gem-setter, metalsmith and engraver are taught at a school of applied arts or through workplace training, with students preparing for their federal vocational education and training diploma (certificat fédéral de capacité CFC). For the other métiers d’art, such as enamelling, engine-turning (guillochage) or paillonnage, there are no courses at schools of applied arts and therefore no official diplomas. These crafts are learned alongside independent artisans. Watch manufactures which have their own workshops, such as for enamelling, train their own craftsmen and women, many of whom already have an art school diploma.

For engravers, the École d’Arts Appliqués in La Chaux-de-Fonds (CIFOM-EAA) is the only school to run a watch engraving course, thereby maintaining a more than centennial tradition. By way of comparison, courses taught at the École d’Arts Appliqués in Zurich or École Boulle in Paris focus on medal engraving, decora-tive engraving and the manufacture of stamping and hallmarking tools.

Émaillage© FHH


Advanced vocational trainingQualifications giving access to advanced vocational training:

1 A person who has a federal VET diploma and several years’ on-the-job experience can obtain formal attestation of their skills by sitting the federal professional education and training diploma (brevet fédéral) in their area of specialisation. This will qualify them for jobs with a higher level of responsibility.

2 Courses at higher vocational colleges (écoles supérieures) are open to holders of a federal VET diploma or an equivalent qualification. In watchmaking, they lead to a federal technician’s diploma. These tertiary-level courses can immediately follow on from initial vocational training or be taken after several years’ on-the-job experience..

3 Universities of applied sciences (hautes écoles spécialisées) propose Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes. They are open to holders of a federal VET diploma plus a vocational school-leaving certificate or baccalaureate (maturité professionnelle) as well as to holders of a school-leaving certificate or baccalaureate (maturité gymnasiale) who have one year’s experience in their chosen specialisation. Universities of applied sciences engage in applied research and development. Holders of a Bachelor’s degree who are employed in the watchmaking industry can prepare for a Masters of Advanced Studies.

4 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is acknowledged as a centre of excellence in research and study in hard science, engineering and architecture. Holders of a federally-recognised school-leaving certificate or baccalaureate (maturité gymnasiale) or a Swiss Bachelor’s degree from a university of applied sciences enrol directly in the first year of their chosen Bachelor’s programme. Holders of a Swiss vocational school-leaving certificate or baccalaureate (maturité professionnelle) who are at least 25 years old should first apply for the CMS preparatory course.


Higher vocational collegesStudents wishing to prepare an advanced qualification in watchmaking must enrol at a higher vocational college, all in French-speaking Switzerland. They offer an advanced-level diploma as a microtechnician with various specialisations, either as a two-year full-time course or as workplace training lasting three or three and a half years.

1 Ecole d’horlogerie de Genève offers specialisations in the following areas:

– micro-mechanical design

– watch design

– watch lab

Entrance requirements – Applicants must hold a federal VET diploma in one of the following areas:– polymechanic– industrial draftsman/woman– automatician,– micromechanic– components drafter– watchmaker– electronics engineer

Applicants must have achieved an average grade of 4.8 in theory subjects during their last year of studies for the federal VET diploma. If these criteria are not met, or the number of applicants exceeds the number of places, students will be required to sit an entrance exam.

2 École Supérieure du canton de Neuchâtel, Domaine Technique CIFOM-ET, Le Locle offers the following specialisations:

– restoration and complications

– watch design

– mechanical design

– industrial processes

Entrance requirements - Holders of a federal VET diploma in their chosen course subject can apply to study for an advanced technician’s diploma and will be selected based on their application. Anyone holding a federal VET diploma in an area other than their chosen course subject will be required to sit an entrance exam.

École Supérieure du canton de Neuchâtel, Domaine Technique in Le Locle runs the only advanced-level course for a microtechnician specialising in restoration/complications. The course is open to persons with a federal VET diploma as a watchmaker-repairer. Students learn traditional techniques to repair and restore valuable antique timepieces. Lessons in art and design history complete this two-year full-time course.

A new Pôle HorlogerIn March 2013, a new centre for research and development in watchmaking opened on the CIFOM Technical School campus in Le Locle. A joint initiative of the Laboratory of Microengineering for Manufacturing at EPFL, Haute École Arc (HE-Arc), the CIFOM Technical School and three watch-making companies, its objective is to build on synergies between the academic world and industry.


3 École Supérieure de la Vallée de Joux offers the following specialisations:

– micro-mechanical design

– watch design

– watch lab

Entrance requirements – Students wishing to enrol at the school must meet one of the following conditions:– hold a federal VET diploma in the branch corresponding to their chosen option;

– hold a federal VET diploma in another branch or another higher secondary-level qualification.In this instance, students will be required to take an aptitude test and must have at least one year’s experience in the corresponding profession.

The school board of directors can make an exception for a student whose initial training is considered to be of an equivalent level.

4 École Supérieure du canton de Neuchâtel, Domaine des Arts, La Chaux-de-Fonds has, for the past four years, run a course which prepares students for an advanced qualification in product design.

Entrance requirements – Applicants must hold a federal VET diploma in one of the following areas: jewellery-making, engraving, watchmaking or micro-mechanics, and must also sit an aptitude test.e.

Universities of applied sciences and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Three such universities, known as hautes écoles spécialisées in Switzerland, run courses with appli-cations in the watchmaking industry at Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral level. They are:

– Haute École Arc Neuchâtel

– Haute École du Paysage, de l’Ingénierie et d’Architecture de Genève (HEPIA)

– École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

The three universities in brief:

– Thanks to the proximity of industry, Haute École Arc is ideally placed to develop close contacts and win the support of business and the economy.

– HEPIA provides a high standard of instruction over three years that equips alumni to practice their chosen profession in the best conditions.

– One of the foremost schools in Europe and the world, EPFL is widely acclaimed for the excellence of its research and teaching.

Switzerland is known the world over for its production of watches. It is also internationally renowned for the quality of its training and for the teaching given in its schools and universities. One could say that the two go hand-in-hand. These are the solid foundations, at the forefront of progress, on which the Swiss watch industry has written some of the finest pages in the history of time measurement. It is also thanks to this passing down of expertise that it will continue to do so for a very long time to come.


Haute École Arc NeuchâtelHistory – In October 2000, the Cantons of Berne, Jura and Neuchâtel declared their intention to group universities of applied sciences in their respective cantons into a single entity. Haute École Arc (Neuchâtel, Berne, Jura) opened in 2005 in Neuchâtel.

It offers two courses in areas with applications in watchmaking:

– Engineering

– Conservation-restoration

1 Haute École Arc Ingénierie University of Neuchâtel was first to train watch engineers, in the 1940s. Some twenty years later,

a degree in microengineering was introduced. In 2009, Haute École Arc Neuchâtel revised its engineering studies, which have been validated by the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OFFT) until 2016. Courses are as follows:

Bachelor level Haute École Arc Ingénierie runs two Bachelor’s degree courses in watch engineering.

The Industrial Design Engineering course leads to degrees in:– Engineering and Design– Mechanical Systems Design

The Microtechnology course leads to degrees in:– Watch Engineering– Industrial Engineering– Microtechnology and Electronics Engineering

Entrance requirements - Studies at Haute École Arc Ingénierie are open to holders of a federal VET diploma and a maturité professionnelle technique, or a federal VET diploma and a technician’s diploma from a higher vocational college, or a maturité gymnasiale plus one year’s on-the-job experi-ence in their chosen field.

Post-graduate studiesThere are two post-graduate courses:

– Master of Advanced Studies in Watch Design– Diploma of Advanced Studies in Watchmaking

Master of Advanced Studies in Watch DesignThis modular course includes workplace training and is proposed by HE-Arc Ingénierie in Neuchâtel and HEPIA in Geneva. Students graduate with a Master of Advanced Studies in Watch Design. The full course runs over five semesters, with a choice of two options in the fourth semester:

– movements– finished products

Entrance requirements - The Master of Advanced Studies in Watch Design is open to students who already hold a Bachelor of Science or equivalent diploma, are already employed in the watch industry, and who wish to develop advanced skills in movement and watch exterior design.


Diploma of Advanced Studies in WatchmakingThis three-semester course leads to a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Watchmaking plus a certificate for any additional modules which the student has passed.

Entrance requirements - The Diploma of Advanced Studies in Watchmaking requires a microtechni-cian’s diploma from a higher vocational college, subject to the number of available places. However, these students do not qualify to enrol for the Advanced Theory module.

2 Haute École Arc Conservation-RestaurationEstablished in 2005 and part of the Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO), the Haute École Arc Conservation-Restauration in Neuchâtel trains students at Bachelor’s and Master’s level with a specialisation in “scientific, technical and horological instruments”. Courses lead to the following degrees:

– Bachelor of Arts in Conservation

– Master of Arts in Conservation-Restoration

Bachelor levelBachelor of Arts in Conservation (HES-SO)Since 2005, the Swiss Conservation-Restoration Campus (Swiss CRC) has coordinated the Bachelor of Arts in Conservation. During the first two years, students learn basic conservation techniques. The third year corresponds to a pre-specialisation in one of the areas practiced by the Swiss CRC partner-schools.

Entrance requirements – Students are selected by a panel based on their application, an aptitude test, and an interview.

They must hold a maturité professionnelle or maturité gymnasiale (high school diploma) and have in-the-field experience (public or private conservation-restoration laboratories, museums, archaeo-logical digs).

Master of Arts in Conservation-Restoration (HES-SO)Holders of a Master of Arts in Conservation-Restoration can work at public, public-private or private institutions: conservation-restoration and research laboratories, local government archae-ological departments, universities, museums and foundations.

Entrance requirements – Students who wish to apply for the course must hold a Bachelor of Arts in Conservation (HES-SO) or equivalent diploma, or a Conservation-Restoration diploma from a university of applied sciences with a specialisation in archaeological and ethnographic objects/scientific, technical and horological instruments and must have graduated between 2000 and 2010. Students are then selected by a panel.


Haute École du Paysage, d’Ingénierie et d’Architecture de Genève (HEPIA)

Part of the Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO), HEPIA in Geneva offers a Bachelor’s degree course in microengineering within its Engineering and Industrial Technologies Department.

Bachelor levelHEPIA proposes three microengineering courses at Bachelor level with the following specialisations:

– Materials and watchmaking

– Electronic equipment design

– Applied physics

Courses last three years and lead to a Bachelor of Science in Microengineering

Entrance requirements - HEPIA is open to students with a federal VET diploma and a maturité professionnelle technique or a microtechnician’s diploma from a higher vocational college.

Post-graduate studiesThe Master’s in Watch Design is taught in collaboration with the Haute École Arc Ingénierie in Neuchâtel.

This modular course includes workplace training and is proposed by HE-Arc Ingénierie in Neuchâtel and HEPIA in Geneva. Students graduate with a Master of Advanced Studies in Watch Design. The full course runs over five semesters, with a choice of two options in the fourth semester:

– movements– finished products

Entrance requirements - The Master of Advanced Studies in Watch Design is open to students who already hold a Bachelor of Science or equivalent diploma, are already employed in the watch industry, and who wish to develop advanced skills in movement and watch exterior design.

Diploma of Advanced Studies in WatchmakingThis three-semester course leads to a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Watchmaking plus a certificate for any additional modules which the student has passed.

Entrance requirements - The Diploma of Advanced Studies in Watchmaking requires a microtechni-cian’s diploma from a higher vocational college, subject to the number of available places. However, these students do not qualify to enrol for the Advanced Theory module.


École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

EPFL is an engineering and technical university that is active in both teaching and research. The university welcomes more than 10,000 students in its five Schools. The School of Engineering offers two courses which can lead to a career in the watch industry:

– Microengineering

– Materials science and engineering

Bachelor and Master levelStudents in Microengineering can study for a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree.

Students in Materials science and engineering can study for a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree.

Entrance requirements – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne is open to students with a maturité gymnasiale suisse or a Bachelor’s degree from a university of applied sciences. Candi-dates with a maturité professionnelle who are at least 25 years old should first apply for the CMS preparatory course.

EPFL, Engineers in Materials Science© Alain Herzog – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

AcknowledgementsWe wish to thank the directors of the watchmaking schools, the École d’Arts Appliqués in La Chaux-de-Fonds and the Wostep school in Neuchâtel who provided invaluable assistance with gathering information and understanding the different curricula:

Pierre Amstutz – Ecole d’horlogerie de GenèveDaniel Dietz – Lycée technique de BienneFabien Graber – École technique de la Vallée de Joux, Le SentierPaul-André Hartmann – École technique Le LocleMarc Pfister – École d’arts appliqués La Chaux-de-FondsMaarten Pieters – Wostep, NeuchâtelJean Theurillat – Centre Jurassien d’Enseignement et de Formation, Division technique PorrentruyDaniel Wegmüller – ZeitZentrum Uhrmacherschule Grenchen

We extend our sincere thanks to:

Sévérine Favre – Convention patronale de l’industrie horlogère suisse, La Chaux-de-FondsSamira Marquis – Manufacture Vacheron Constantin, Genève Anny Sandmeier – Union des Fabricants d’horlogerie de Genève, Vaud et ValaisJérémy Annen – IFAGE, GenèvePierre Biedermann – Manufacture Cartier, La Chaux-de-FondsOlivier Duvanel, Gianni Fiorucci et Nicolas Jeanson - Haute École Arc Ingénierie NeuchâtelMichel Leemann – Cartier International, GenèveChristian Piguet – expertDavid Seyffer et Markus Kauffmann – Manufacture IWC, Schaffhausen

CRÉDIT PHOTOGRAPHIQUE:

- MUSÉE D’HORLOGERIE, CHÂTEAU DES MONTS, LE LOCLE

- MUSÉE INTERNATIONAL D’HORLOGERIE, LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS

- MANUFACTURE IWC, IWC MEDIA CENTER, SCHAFFHAUSEN

- MANUFACTURE VACHERON CONSTANTIN, GENÈVE

- ECOLE D’HORLOGERIE DE GENÈVE

- CEJEF – DIVISON TECHNIQUE SECTION HORLOGERIE, PORRENTRUY

- ANDRÉ HERZOG, ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FÉDÉRALE DE LAUSANNE

Find out more about the fascinating world of Fine Watches at www.hautehorlogerie.org

Avenue du Mail 22 | 1205 Geneva | Switzerland

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