Despite the morose economy and rising unemployment there remain several hundred apprenticeships in diverse sectors available for September in the Romandy area, according to Grégoire Evequoz of the Office for Orientation and Professional Training and Continuing Education.

Notably in such domains as ‘Employé(e) de Commerce,’ there remain more than a hundred slots still open. Also in the construction sector there are still many openings. The economy what it is, this probably says more about the desirability of these sectors among today’s youth. In the sector of health and social services there remain nearly a hundred slots for dental assistants, pharmacy assistants or health workers.

In the technical area, slots for apprenticeships remain in auto mechanics and industrial mechanics. There are also openings in the hotel and restaurant fields, as well as in applied arts and environment.

Applicant for apprenticeships in the Romandy area must send their dossiers by 15 July to the OFPC. (Documents to fill out are available at http://www.ge.ch/ofpc/actualite/default.asp?art=136.

Other info is available by pestering the bureaucrats at the OFPC, Service de la Formation Professionnelle, Rue Prevost-Martin 6, 1205 Geneva, Tel: 022 388 4400, Email: ofpc@etat.ge.ch

The institute for Healthy Work and the EPFZ are co-organizing a specialty diploma in the Workplace Medicine, Workplace Hygiene and ergonomics.

This new postgraduate degree — part of the Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in workplace health—is proposed jointly by the IST (part of the University of Lausanne) and the Ecole Polytechnic of Zurich.

The new curriculum which trains workplace medical staff, hygienists and ergonomics experts is the first of its kind in Switzerland (probably for good reason). The specialists are trained in the prevention and management of workplace accidents, occupational illnesses, and the insuring workplace security, thereby reducing costs related to absenteeism.

In essence, the workplace doctor is responsible for preventing and identifying occupational illnesses, as well as health problems related to employment conditions.
The hygienist is often a scientific profile, and is responsible for protecting employees at the workplace and dealing with occupational risks – chemical, pollution-related, environmental, noise, etc. – from the company’s activities. The domain of the ergonomics expert is the physical workplace environment and its tools, as well as the organization of the work such as to minimize psychological or social troubles.

The specialized curriculum is addressed mainly to professionals with jobs in the field of occupational health or who seek to find employment in work environment health, whether they be doctors, chemists, scientists, engineers, or even psychologists or social scientists.

The proposed curriculum is divided in four parts. Ten modules treat the basics of the profession (health, workplace psychology, physiology, toxicology, law, and workplace risk factors). A further eight modules are devoted to management (project management, executive management, etc.). Then a further ten modules of specialization in three domains of occupational health.

Registration is open until 30 April 2009 at the EPFZ, with coursework beginning in September 2009. Complete information is available at http://www.zoa.ethz.ch/education/continuing/masag