Polymechanic Shortage: Digitalising Training Workshops Helps Build the Next Generation
Biel/Bienne (BE), 18 June 2026. Switzerland's machine, electrical engineering and metal industries are struggling to recruit. Behind the open positions lies a deeper issue: training and retaining the next generation starting from the training workshop. Digitalising training workshops is emerging as one of the levers.
A Talent Pipeline Under Pressure
Demand for polymechanics, production mechanics and microtechnology professionals remains strong, while demographics and competition from other career paths weigh on numbers. Several thousand people obtain a federal VET diploma (CFC) in mechanics-related trades each year — a valuable pipeline, but insufficient given industry needs.
Training on the Real Tools of Industry
Company workshops today run on CMMS, Lean methods, performance indicators and strict traceability. An apprentice trained on a paper binder and a spreadsheet discovers these standards only once on the job. Closing this gap means digitalising the training workshop.
The Role of a Tool Built for Schools
This is MECAFLOW's niche: bringing industry standards into an interface designed for teaching, free for schools and accessible via QR code. Apprentices don't just machine parts: they log a breakdown, update an indicator, track their skills.
« You don't keep young people in technical trades by handing them tools from another era. Digitalising the training workshop shows apprentices that mechanics today is as much a data trade as a chip-cutting one. »— The Nexus Studios team
Frequently Asked Questions
How many apprentices train in mechanics in Switzerland?
Several thousand people obtain a federal VET diploma (CFC) each year in mechanics and microtechnology professions, according to federal vocational training statistics.
How does digitalisation help the next generation?
A digitalised workshop trains apprentices in the standards expected in the workplace (CMMS, Lean, KPIs, safety) and makes the trade more concrete and attractive to young people.
MECAFLOW – Clarity in the Workshop
See at a glance which machines are running, where it stalls and what each part really costs. No wiring, no mandatory sensor.
Open my MECAFLOW workshop →About MECAFLOW
MECAFLOW is the Swiss workshop management platform for industrial SMEs — OEE, maintenance, quality, stock, safety and skills in a single tool. Non-invasive (QR code + PIN, no wiring), bilingual French/German, published in Switzerland by Nexus Studios in Biel (BE), data stored in Europe. Also used — and free — in vocational schools.
Press contact
Nexus Studios — [email protected] · mecaflow.ch