Swiss watchmakers must boost training to meet labour shortages

A Jaeger-LeCoultre watchmaker assembles a watch movement. © Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

Around 4,000 watchmakers need to be trained or recruited over the next four years to manage labour shortages, according to an employers’ association. Chopard Co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele warns of a difficult future for the watch industry if firms don’t increase training and recruitment.

“It’s certain that the 30 or so apprentices that we train every year will not be enough to meet our needs. We need to double, or even triple [the number],” Scheufele told Swiss public television, RTS, on Saturday.

The Swiss Watch Industry Employers’ Convention estimates that that by 2026 almost 4,000 new trainees and staff will be needed. This is essentially the result of early retirements (62% of total), as well as 1,466 new jobs to support growth.

This is partly due to the favourable business situation, with “watch exports doing very well”, said Marion Vermot, head of vocational training at the employers’ convention.

In 2021, the Federal Customs Administration reported Swiss watch exports worth a record CHF22.3 billion, following CHF16.9 billion in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Growth remains strong this year, with CHF20.4 billion exported over the first ten months of 2022.

But the watchmaking industry is also paying the price of the lack of investment in training in certain specialist professions, says Vermot. There is currently great demand for specialists in polishing and finishing, microtechnology quality experts and watchmaking operators.

“We are studying all the possibilities to meet these needs. But ultimately in order to perpetuate our professions, there will still be a shortage of people,” says Scheufele.