Last Friday, LVMH’s Ecole d’Horlogerie, which currently numbers 12 apprentices from the TAG Heuer and Zenith manufactures, was officially inaugurated in the presence of Jean-Claude Biver. The school is attached to LVMH’s Institut des Métiers d’Excellence (IME), a training scheme based on the Swiss dual apprenticeship system, which combines part-time study at a technical college with industry placement.
The IME was set up in 2014 by Chantal Gaemperle, the Swiss national who is director of human resources and synergy for LVMH. The aim of the initiative is to recruit and train young people, ensure the transfer of skills, prioritise craftsmanship and, ultimately, to supply the HR needs of the group. There are currently 16 training courses on offer, in jewellery, leather craft, clothing design and tailoring, winemaking, culinary arts, retail design, sales and, beginning this year, watchmaking.
In the case of the watchmaking course, the 12 apprentices currently attached to the manufactures of Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds will receive theory instruction at the inter-regional training centre in Neuchâtel (Centre interrégional de formation des montagnes neuchâteloises – CIFOM), alongside practical sessions in the workshops of TAG Heuer and Zenith. These budding watchmakers will benefit from contact with two very different watch brands: Zenith, with its tradition of craftsmanship, and TAG Heuer, with its avant-garde spirit. But that’s not all. Through a series of exclusive Master Classes organised by the IME, the apprentices will also have the opportunity to meet experts and artisans from within the group, to explore the workshops and company boutiques, and share their experiences with the other 200 apprentices on the programme.
In what is a turbulent time for the Swiss watch industry, the creation of this school demonstrates LVMH’s commitment to training and job creation. The initiative will boost the youngsters’ employment prospects in the region, as well as ensuring a supply of qualified watchmakers to work in after-sales service for the group’s watch brands around the world.
