After the journeyman certificate — further education for watchmakers

When you have passed the journeyman exam and call yourself watchmaker you are ready to work independently in the trade. But a journeyman education is never a final stop – it is a foundation you can build on. In a trade where both technology and customers' watches develop the ongoing learning is part of being good.

§Further training in the trade.

As a skilled watchmaker you have the opportunity to participate in further education that keeps your skills up to date. Within the collective agreement framework employees may have the right to several weeks of further education and in some cases you can receive wages during education while your employer can seek compensation. This makes it easier to continue learning while you are on the job.

§Specialized techniques

Some techniques go beyond basic training and are learned on special courses. An example is precision engineering welding and laser methods that make it possible to repair very small parts with minimal heat impact. Mastering such techniques can make you a sought-after specialist who can solve tasks others have to pass on.

• 01Courses in special repair and welding techniques
• 02Brand and manufacturer courses from importers
• 03Courses in restoration of old mechanical watches
• 04Update in watch electronics

§The path to self-employed

Many watchmakers eventually become self-employed with their own shop or workshop. It requires more than professional skills: you must also be able to run a business handle finances purchasing marketing and customer relations. Here courses in sales service and business economics — which you already meet some of in the education — can be expanded so you stand stronger as a business owner.

§Further in the education system

In general, a vocational education gives access to building further — for example with academy and further education within management, sales or technology, if you wish. If you want a broader theoretical foundation, there are also paths where a skilled background can be combined with supplementary subjects. What specifically makes sense depends on your goals, so seek guidance if you want to go further.

The most important message is that watchmaking is a trade you never really finish learning. The curiosity that makes you take a watch mechanism apart to understand it is exactly the same curiosity that can carry you forward — as a specialist as self-employed or as a skilled worker with broader education on top.