Today we are taking a deeper dive into the educational system, which is a key foundation of the Swiss watchmaking industry. As Lenny has been both a student and teacher at the local watchmaking school, who better to ask! We hope you enjoy the interview style and gain some new insights into the world of horology.
Editor: How long is the education to become a watchmaker?
Lenny: There are various training courses for watchmakers.
A two-year apprenticeship: Basic knowledge of a watch movement. Trained according to industrial standards.
A three-year apprenticeship: Further skills such as regulating, fine-tuning and quality control on movements.
The four-year apprenticeship: In-depth knowledge of watch movements. Repairing historical watches and pendulum clocks, carrying out laboratory tests.
Editor: What is the title you have at the end of the course?
Lenny: It depends on which of the courses you choose:
Two years: "Watchworker" (Federal Vocational Certificate - EBA)
Three years: "Production Watchmaker" (Federal Certificate of Competence - EFZ)
Four years: "Watchmaker Rhabilleur" / Industrial Method (Federal Certificate of Competence - EFZ)
These certificates are standardized and are subject to strict requirements of the education authorities of the respective cantons. [Ed: Switzerland has 26 cantons, each has its own government]. This EBA or EFZ certificate is available for all apprenticeship programs.
Editor: Is the education 100% based in the classroom, or do you also spend time with a watch manufacturer?
Lenny: That was always a fun affair. We called them the external ones and they called us the internal ones. The difference was that we spent the whole time at the ZeitZentrum (the only training centre in German-speaking Switzerland), and it was like an apprenticeship, but in a school without a commercially focussed company behind it. The externals, on the other hand, were employed by a company and only came to the vocational school for a day and a half each week. The big difference was that the externals were in a profit-oriented company, and we interns had more time to train specialist skills. A further difference is that if you are an apprentice, you receive a (small salary) and get holidays like an employee. If you are a student, you get no salary but the holidays like a university student.
As an internal watchmaking student, however, you have to spend two weeks in the second year of your apprenticeship and three weeks in the third year of your apprenticeship in a company on a so-called stage (work placement) so that we can see what the everyday life of a watchmaker in a company looks like.
Editor: Is the school just for watchmaking or can you learn other professions there?
Lenny: I need to expand a little. Until 2002, the Zeitzentrum watchmaking school was still based in the canton of Solothurn. Back then, it was purely a school for watchmakers. For 23 years now, the watchmaking school has been housed in a larger building, the BBZ Grenchen, where there are also other professions such as electricians, maintenance specialists, gardeners, bricklayers, carpenters, etc. In total, there are 14 different training programmes. The canteen is always full [Ed: and the cake looks good]
Editor: Are there other watchmaking schools in CH? Do you know how many?
Lenny: There are a total of seven schools that offer watchmaking apprenticeships.
Of these, only one school is German-speaking, which is exciting because the majority of Switzerland speaks German. [Ed: Switzerland has 4 official languages: German 62.5%, French 22.5%, Italian 8%, Romansh 0.5%]
Then there are 5 French-speaking schools and the newest one in Italian-speaking Switzerland.
Lateral entrants often go to a training school for watchmakers called WOSTEP in Neuchâtel, just up the road from us in Biel. Approximately 400 students per year gain a qualification from a Swiss watchmaking school.
Editor: There are lots of specialist jobs within watchmaking, do all of these careers begin at a watchmaking school?
Lenny: Yes, absolutely. Everyone trains as a watchmaker first. Of course, there are also career changers who come from micromechanics or quality control, for example, and retrain, but this is rather rare. In Switzerland, we have a good dual education system, which often makes it easy to change careers. Many watchmakers are not finished even after their watchmaking training. I would estimate that 50% go on to further education to work as an engineer or designer: just like Jonas or Pascal here at HORAGE.
There is also a vocational baccalaureate that you can do alongside your watchmaking training. This is for watchmaking students who already know at the start of their training that they will go on to study.
Editor: What is a typical day at the school?
Lenny: Theory is often explained at the beginning of the day on a current topic. After that, exercises are practised and shown to the instructor at regular intervals. The students receive help on how they can improve and are also graded. When an exercise is completed, work diaries are written to consolidate what has been learnt and you can look at the notes later on.
Editor: Do you learn also how to design a watch and use modern software tools e.g. CAD?
Lenny: In terms of design understanding, yes. We called it ‘stylistics’. But we didn't design anything ourselves. As far as design is concerned, more is taught today than back then using CAD software. But the traditional drawing board is also still used in training. This really wasn't my favourite subject!
Editor: We saw there is an interesting museum at the school, what can we learn about modern watchmaking from studying the first mechanical clocks?
Lenny: This museum also exhibits diploma theses by former watchmaking students. This can be motivating for the newcomers to see what is possible after their training. The large clocks are a great illustrative example of the basic principles of a clock.
Editor: Is the school supported by the industry?
Lenny: The school in Grenchen is largely financed by the students and the canton. Training materials or tools are often provided by industry. This means that the students work with movements that they will later encounter in their everyday work. The industry has an interest in ensuring that the watchmaking students are ready for their future working environment.
Editor: Are there other routes to become a watchmaker e.g. training within one of the bigger brands?
Lenny: As I mentioned above, yes, there are. As we called them, the external ones. They work and learn their technical knowledge in the company and only come to the vocational school for the theoretical subjects. But there are also inter-company courses, which they then spend several weeks (in blocks) at the watchmaking school.
Editor: Thanks Lenny! – A fascinating look into this hands-on “School of Watch”! I’m sure we’ll come back to this subject another time as we deepen our journey into all things Swiss and HORAGEOLOGICAL in future forum posts!
What did you find most interesting about the interview?
If you could turn back the clock, would watchmaking be a career choice for you?
Where else can you learn watchmaking? We would love to discover your local knowledge from beyond the Alps!
Thanks Lenny and Roger!
Like many hobbyists, I’ve thought about if I’d done it all differently and became a watch builder. I love small and precise machines, as most us do.
But.. I’m old enough and grew up in the wrong place, so moving to Switzerland or Europe when I was quite young would’ve been needed, sadly.
Right now it’s fun to play around: take apart an NH and try to rebuild it, or bluing steel hands in a tray of brass shavings. Heat Bluing turns out to be surprisingly fun and easy and purple and gradients are perhaps more fun.
Lastly, I’m curious, can a master watchmaker like Lenny and Jonas sneak into the atelier at night and build a random dream watch from total scratch? Do the guys wear or have mash ups or their own creation?