The CAAJ relocates to the Forum de l’Arc

On 3 February, the Centre d’apprentissage de l’Arc jurassien (CAAJ) officially opened its new premises in the heart of the Forum de l’Arc in Moutier. This vast hall was formerly home to the Tornos Apprenticeship Centre where hundreds of apprentices were trained across several decades. These renovated and brightly lit premises now house around 30 young apprentices who have come to train in the fields of bar-turning, polymechanics, micromechanics, production mechanics and as mechanics practitioners.

Dual-track education
The Swiss dual-track education system is recognised worldwide. It enables the Swiss economy to continue to develop while relying on competent professionals. The CAAJ, which is a network of 21 member companies, is part of this approach. Young people sign a contract with a partner company and the CAAJ then undertakes to provide the first part of their training. After a year and a half or two years, they have thus learned all the fundamentals of their profession, as confirmed by partial exams. The CAAJ thus acts as a bridge between the school and the firm, enabling young people to begin working without being directly confronted with all the constraints of the professional world. For their part, employers do not have to provide basic training for their apprentices, which represents a great saving in time and personnel.

At the CAAJ, apprentices are supervised by trainers from the regional industry who are solely dedicated to passing on knowledge. They also work alongside other young people, thus ensuring an optimal transition between compulsory school and the world of work. The CAAJ represents a real technical, psychological, physical and social bridge. It offers young people time to train without stress, without restrictive deadlines and without professional pressure.

CAAJ partner companies
Convinced of the importance of properly preparing future exponents of technical professions, the CAAJ’s partner companies are banking on the many advantages of dual-track vocational education. They are committed to training the next generation and to supporting the apprenticeship centre, but there is more to it than that, since many firms, especially regional ones, support the CAAJ by making machines and equipment available and/or by granting preferential conditions. An entire regional (micro) technical ecosystem is thereby mobilised for the future.

The CAAJ therefore operates closely with each of them. To date, the following companies work with the training centre: Acrotec Group, Azuréa Technologie Horlogère, Azuréa Microtechnique, Gérald Badan, BF Décolletage, Boillat Décolletage, Dubois & Dépraz, Easydec, Eric Gerber, Les Fils d’Henri Frei, Roger Maeder, MPS décolletage, MPS Watch, Polydec, Schaublin Machines, Swissmec, Swiza, Tavadec, Tectri, Tornos, Ultra Décolletage.

Exemplary inter-cantonal cooperation
Located on the border of the Bern and Jura cantons, the CAAJ is an example of successful inter-cantonal cooperation. For years, apprentices from companies in both cantons have been training there and attending theoretical courses together at the same vocational school. Although the transfer of Moutier to the Canton of Jura has stirred considerable debate, the centre’s director, Danielle Ackermann, remains confident. The range of training courses offered is very specific and closely tailored to the needs of the industrial fabric of the entire Jura Arc.

Exceptional results
With a 98% exam success rate over the last ten years and apprentices who are regularly rewarded as the best in their class, the CAAJ is recognised as a high-quality service provider for young people, companies and the entire (micro)technical economy of the Jura Arc and indeed the whole of Switzerland. To date, some 120 trainees have completed this dual-track training course, 70% of them in the bar-turning stream. The move to the Forum de l’Arc is bound to reinforce this success rate, as these new premises offer optimal conditions for training. The young people benefit from a single large workshop – having previously been scattered over three different locations in the heart of Moutier – facilitating contacts among them and with trainers. In addition, they can take their lunch breaks in a company canteen offering hot meals. The Forum de l’Arc is also well served by public transport, as many apprentices travel in from outside the region. All these positive points will contribute to enhancing training conditions for future technicians.

Future-oriented professions
Technical occupations are the source of all everyday objects and developments in the fields of transport, energy, telecommunications, watchmaking and many others. Young people who choose these paths are not only assured of exciting jobs with almost guaranteed work, but also of worthwhile salaries.

The future of the CAAJ
The director of the CAAJ has a clear vision and is looking far ahead. She expresses a wish to grow the centre, which has a bright future, and perhaps even to occupy a second floor at the Forum de l’Arc! She hopes to see the arrival of new companies keen to train the next generation. Danielle Ackermann also hopes that the training centre will be recognised as the “Academy of bar-turning and mechanics” for the Jura and Bernese Jura. These are high ambitions that she will do everything possible to achieve!

February 23, 2023