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Eight apprentices pass their CFC with flying colors at Tornos

Tornos is constantly training some 30 apprentices in various fields: polymechanics, industrial draughtsman, logistician and commercial employees, both male and female. This year, 8 Tornos apprentices successfully obtained—some with honors—the certificat fédéral de capacité (CFC) heralding their professional maturity, some with honors. Isaline Amstutz, Maxime Broquet, Beatriz Dias, Leonora Gashi, Alan Junod, Swen Meusy, Liam Siegenthaler and Loan Stoller now enter a new stage in their professional lives and Tornos is particularly proud of their progress and success.

 

Tornos apprentices are trained in five areas and, on completion of their apprenticeship, obtain a CFC as a polymechanic, draughtsman, logistician, computer scientist or commercial employee, five professions which will soon be five professions that will soon be complemented by a training as an automatician. As Tornos ensures equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women, apprenticeships are allocated on the basis of skills and not on the basis of the gender of the person applying for such a position.

 

While the polymechanic must have a definite interest in mechanics, love to create with his/her hands and demonstrate agility and precision, just like the production mechanic, who follows a shorter training, the draughtsman-builder must combine passion for mechanics and drawing. Thanks to this apprenticeship, he/she participates in the design of new projects using the latest computer-aided design tools. A certain taste for mathematics will undoubtedly lead to logistics where the control of goods, the reception of order entries is an integral part of daily tasks. At Tornos, commercial employees spend an average of 6 months in each department in order to familiarize themselves with the different aspects of this profession and to be able to function independently in any sector at the end of their training. The computer scientist sets up systems for data processing while being subjected to daily challenges when it comes to troubleshooting computer issues.

 

A long tradition that Tornos continues

 

Tornos has always attached great importance to the training of apprentices. As early as 1962, the Moutier-based company was a pioneer in opening the first Tornos Professional Centre (CPT) in order to ensure the succession of its employees and offer apprentices from the Jura Arc region the opportunity to train in a reputable company. Tornos obtained all the cantonal authorizations to open a private vocational school. Thus, the apprentices received practical and theoretical training at Tornos. Shortly afterward, the Canton of Bern recognized the CPT as a cantonal vocational school. Theoretical training was integrated into the company, with the pooling of cantonal (BE) and private (Tornos) financial resources.

 

In the early 1990s, the CPT took on more than 160 apprentices under contract, while Tornos employed some 900 people in Switzerland at the time. The apprentices could train and obtain CFCs in five different professions: machine mechanic, bar-turning mechanic, draughtsman, electronics technician and construction locksmith. However, for financial reasons, at the end of the 1990s, the Canton of Bern stopped funding theoretical training at the CPT and Tornos once again became an apprenticeship center and lost its status as a vocational school. As a result, in 2002, only 32 polymechanics apprentices and 2 instructors remained from the 130 apprentices in the 5 training courses previously mentioned, while Tornos was navigating an economic storm.

 

Working in a network and in the field

 

Little by little, companies entered into partnerships with one another, particularly for the training of draughtsmen and builders. In 2007, the Centre d'Apprentissage de l'Arc Jurassien (CAAJ) was created with the objective of promoting DUAL training in the Arc Jurassien. The CAAJ is there to train apprentices to commit themselves, to do something constructive. Creativity and enthusiasm are encouraged; respect and fairness are taught.

 

The CAAJ is therefore an ideal training center, a "preparation" for the apprentice who is supervised at the CAAJ during the first part of his/her apprenticeship, while combining theory and practice and regularly doing internships in companies.

 

Tornos polymechanics apprentices spend the first 2 years of their apprenticeships at the CAAJ and then join the company for the last two years. This is also the case for the production mechanics apprentices, who, on the other hand, complete their training in 3 years.

 

A typically Swiss educational path

 

The good health of the Swiss economy, with an unemployment rate generally below 4 percent, is due in particular to the quality of the vocational training system, which is oriented toward the labor market and integrated into the education system.

 

At the end of their compulsory schooling, young people in Switzerland have the choice of continuing their studies or opting for a vocational training program, which is mostly "dual." The latter combines school and practice. The basis is an in-company apprenticeship of 3 to 4 working days per week, coupled with courses at a vocational school. The training, during which the apprentice is paid by the employer, lasts between 2 and 4 years and culminates with a Federal Certificate of Competence (CFC) or a Federal Certificate of Vocational Training (AFP). The former apprentice can then go directly into the job market or start higher education. Many managers of small and medium-sized Swiss companies have followed this route.

 

In this way, Tornos—thanks to its commitment and willingness to train young people for important professions in its sector—plays an essential role in the industry of the Jura Arc by maintaining a tradition and empowering the next generation.