Lift Specialists Celebrate Their Federal Certificate
Ropeway specialists can be happy about the successful completion of their further training. They received their diploma at the Technical Cable Car Conference from September 12 to 14, 2022 in Lugano (TI). After 18 months of extra-occupational instruction, several intermediate exams and the professional exam, the path to becoming a federally certified "ropeway manager" is now open to ropeway specialists.
On Tuesday, September 13, 2022, the graduates shone almost as brightly as the sun in Ticino. Fabian Imboden, President of the Examination Committee and Technical Director of Zermatt Bergbahnen, presented the newly qualified cable car experts with their diplomas. The further training enables the graduates to take on the technical management of a cable car company.
Best-in-class Romand comes from Ticino
The prospective cable car specialists started their training in 2020 with different previous knowledge from training as a cable car mechatronics technician EFZ or as career changers such as car mechanics EFZ or electromechanics EFZ. This training is carried out in two languages: In Sion, 17 of the specialists learned general technical basics and operational applications in French and 35 in German at the SBS training center in Meiringen. The training plan also included topics such as occupational safety and health protection regulations.
In fact, this year the language did not seem to be a major obstacle for Damiano Re, an Italian-speaking professional, who completed his training in French with a final mark of 5.1, at the top of his class. "Only the technical terms were a bit problematic at the beginning, because I didn't know them. But my classmates were able to help me out here and now I know the terms in both languages," says Damiano Re about his experience during the training.
The German-speaking counterpart to Damiano Re is Lukas Gestach. He was awarded the best grade of 5.3 by the German speakers for his performance. For the newly awarded cable car specialist working in the Bernese Oberland, things continue as follows: "In the summer I work for the Grindelwald-Pfingstegg cable car, and in the winter I work for the Lenk Bergbahnen - so I'm staying in the Bernese Oberland."
Ropeway experts for every region
With a total of thirteen graduates, the Valais mountain railways have the largest number of young professionals this year. Celina Kaiser is the only woman who works in Zermatt to have received the ropeway specialist diploma this year. When asked how it feels to be the only woman to have completed the training, she replies: "During my four-year apprenticeship as a cable car mechatronics technician EFZ, I was the only woman, so that's normal for me. But it's nice to see that more and more women are moving up." Celina Kaiser is so far the fourth woman who is qualified to take over the technical management of a cable car company.
The other regions of Switzerland can also look forward to new specialists: nine of them come from central Switzerland and nine graduates from the Bern region have also received a diploma. There are now seven more specialists in Graubünden. Four graduates each from Eastern Switzerland and the Friborg region attended the further training and two people from the Vaud region and Ticino received the professional certificate. Another specialist is now working in law.
New educational plan
After handing over the diploma, the graduates celebrated their well-deserved success with the participants of the technical ropeway conference. At the technical ropeway conference, the new training plan was presented along with interesting input presentations on the subject of “360° safety”. For the past two years, apprentices have been trained in areas of practical competence. Marc Ziegler, head of the SBS training center, introduced participants to the VTK conference in Lugano to raise awareness of this topic.
