In 2021, four CERN technical apprentices(1) completed their training. Two electronics technicians, Lois Gonnon and Adrian Grosclaude, and two physics laboratory technicians, Lenny Emmenegger and Florian Jenny, received their certificat fédéral de capacité (CFC) after four years of training at CERN. No mean feat, given the global health crisis over the last two years!
Lois Gonnon and Florian Jenny were also among the winners of the Union Industrielle Genevoise (UIG) prizes awarded in each field of industrial mechatronics. In addition, Florian Jenny won the Socorex Science Merit prize for his excellent results in the end-of-apprenticeship exams.
More than 300 students have benefited from the technical apprentice programme – CERN’s oldest professional training programme – since it began in 1966. It was launched by the Geneva authorities, which were keen to collaborate with CERN, and quickly took off. The records below show how the programme evolved over the years.
Since 1999, the apprentice programme has included library apprentices(2) as well as technical apprentices. 25 young people have obtained their diploma in this field at CERN since the programme was launched. The most recent graduate, Laurène Come, received hers in 2021, after three years of training. Since the start of the 2021 academic year, CERN has also been hosting a commercial apprentice(3).
Since 2020, all CERN apprentices have taken part in various workshops designed to raise their awareness of different topics within their specialism and help them to develop their personal skills and to network with their peers. The 2020 “resilience” workshop and the 2021 workshop on “data protection and the dangers associated with the digital world” were organised by CERN’s Learning and Development group, in collaboration with the leaders of the various apprentice programmes. These events are run by expert trainers and their content has been specially developed for apprentices.
In 2021, apprentices were hosted by the EN-MME, TE-VSC, TE-MPE, SY-BI, SY-RF, TE-MSC, SY-EPC, BE-CEM, EP-ESE and EP-DT groups and, outside CERN, by the Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève (HUG) and the Haute école du paysage, d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Genève (HEPIA).
CERN’s apprentice programme team wishes to thank the host groups and, in particular, the supervisors, for the high quality of teaching and support provided througout the training period, without which the programme would not be possible.
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(1) The CERN technical apprentice programme trains mechanical technicians, electronics technicians and physics laboratory technicians. It is coordinated by the recently created RAS-APP section within the TE department. For more information on the programme, see its new website: https://apprentissage-technique.web.cern.ch/en! Alternatively, you can contact Virginia Prieto Hermosilla (TE-RAS-APP).
(2) The library apprentice programme is coordinated by the Scientific Information service (SIS) in the Research and Computing sector (RCS). For more information, please contact Anne Gentil-Beccot (RCS-SIS-LB).
(3) CERN’s commercial apprentice programme is coordinated by the HR department. For more information, please contact Fanny Cantin (HR-CBS-B).