Stress is a known trigger for the desire to smoke. But the reasons why the Swiss reach for a cigarette before, during and after work go beyond this factor. In the survey conducted in March, two out of three Swiss smokers (70 percent) stated that certain working conditions encourage their consumption. But why do people in some professions smoke more than others? Markus Lindblad explains: "In addition to stress and time pressure, working hours and the social environment also play an important role. In teams where many colleagues smoke, it is often difficult to resist the temptation. Irregular working hours, which are common in shift work, also tempt many people to reach for a cigarette".

Healthcare and finance at the top: stress as a driver

So where are the most smokers? The healthcare sector is in first place with fourteen percent. "There is still a shortage of skilled workers in Switzerland. According to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), there will be a shortage of around 65,000 nursing staff in 2025. Fewer staff means more stress for employees. During night shifts, people often reach for a cigarette to supposedly keep themselves awake," says Lindblad. This is closely followed by the financial sector, where thirteen percent of those surveyed smoke. The expert also identifies stress factors that can encourage consumption: "Long working hours, high pressure to perform and tight deadlines drive many employees in the financial world to reach for a cigarette. Smoking is often used as a short-term outlet, especially in professions where a lot of responsibility is carried".

Around one in ten smokers in the "IT & telecommunications" (11 percent) and "architecture, engineering and construction" (9 percent) sectors. "Cigarettes are a familiar sight in construction in particular. Smoking breaks are part of a certain tradition here as a way of taking a short break between hard physical work. A survey we commissioned last year also shows that the Swiss take an average of three breaks of around ten minutes each on a working day. Extrapolated to a week, that's two and a half hours spent smoking," adds the expert.

Intellectual my ass - cigarettes are out in creative professions

What is surprising is that in creative professions, where the "cig" is often associated with expressiveness and inspiration, smoking is no longer so popular. In the arts and culture, only five percent of employees smoke, and in sales, media and marketing the figure is just four percent. "This shows a change in society: while smoking used to be seen as rebellious or intellectual, it has lost its coolness factor in these sectors. Today, the focus is more on health, fitness and a conscious lifestyle," Lindblad is convinced.

20 cigarettes a day: people in these professions smoke for all they're worth

On average, respondents consumed around ten cigarettes a day. However, the amount smoked depends heavily on the occupational field, as Lindblad explains: "The differences between the sectors are clear." The "retail, catering and leisure" sector smokes the most (12.35 cigarettes/day), followed by "travel and transportation" (12.09 cigarettes/day), "manufacturing and utilities" (11.86 cigarettes/day) and "architecture, engineering and construction" (11.64 cigarettes/day).

However, there are also sectors in which people smoke less. In the arts and culture sector, in marketing, media and sales and in the legal sector, consumption is around eight to nine cigarettes a day. What is particularly surprising is that the financial sector, where many people smoke, is in the lower midfield with around eight cigarettes a day.

Equally striking: in the construction industry, 32 percent of respondents stated that they smoke between 15 and 20 cigarettes a day. "Here, the smoking break is often perceived as a short break, which is why many people reach for a cig more often," says Lindblad. The health sector, on the other hand, where most smokers are found, is average. Here, only 17 percent consume such a high number of cigarettes, most (40 percent) are in the middle range with six to ten.

Workday or leisure time? Smoking remains a fixed habit

Stress at work is a clear trigger for turning to the habit - but consumption remains high even on days off. While 37 percent of respondents smoke more on work days, 41 percent say that they light up a cigarette more often in their free time. One in five smokes the same amount every day. "Consumption often starts as a result of stress and quickly becomes a habit - many people reach for a cigarette regardless of the day of the week," says Lindblad. And that's exactly what makes it so difficult to kick the habit. "Once you start, you often associate it with certain routines. This makes it difficult for many people to simply stop," says the expert. Smoke-free alternatives such as snus can offer a way to change nicotine consumption.

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Dr. Rico Travella (58) graduated in business administration from the University of St. Gallen in 1990 and obtained his doctorate in business administration and marketing in 2003, also from the University of St. Gallen. Due to his professional career in the areas of management consulting, marketing and communication, he has many years of broad management experience in various private companies. Since 2020, Dr. Rico Travella has worked at Alternative Bank Switzerland, first as Head of Marketing and Communications and since 2022 as a member of the Executive Board and Head of Services (Marketing & Communications, Sustainability, HR, Projects, IT, Infrastructure, Finance, Legal & Compliance).

On 1 September 2025, Dr. Rico Travella will take over the strategic and operational management as well as the future-oriented further development of the FHNW School of Business with over 400 employees and around 3,000 students. In his role as Director, he will strategically expand and strengthen the regional, national and international network as well as the positioning of the FHNW School of Business, promote the further development of a contemporary, practice-oriented and science-based educational offering and, as a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, share responsibility for the development of the FHNW.

Markus Jordi, President of the FHNW University of Applied Sciences Council, is delighted with the choice of the new Director. "The new Director of the FHNW School of Business must meet an extremely demanding profile and have the skills to master future challenges in a goal-oriented and sustainable manner. We are convinced that we have found the right person in Rico Travella," says Markus Jordi.

Prof. Dr. Crispino Bergamaschi, President of the Board of Directors of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW and Head of the Appointment Process, sums up the election of the new Director as follows: "I am very pleased with the election of Rico Travella. The new Director has the experience, the network and the personality that are central to this role".

Source: www.fhnw.ch

The global market for monoclonal antibodies is expected to grow to over USD 300 billion by 2025. However, current antibody development processes are often slow, costly and limited in their therapeutic range, making it difficult to develop new therapies, particularly for cancer and diseases of the immune system.

Remuun has developed a patented MEGA platform that mimics the natural process of antibody diversification in the laboratory. Its modular design enables the rapid and precise production of customized monoclonal antibodies. Based on its expertise in the interactions between the immune system and tumors, Remuun aims to deepen scientific understanding and develop more effective immunotherapies.

The biotech startup plans to use the CHF 150,000 provided by Venture Kick to accelerate its growth. The funds will be used to build strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, drive the development of a new generation of antibody-based therapies and expand the intellectual property portfolio.

The REMUUN team, co-founded by Prof. Dr. Richard Chahwan, consists of the scientists Paulina Wyrzykowska and Romina Fetti as well as other advisors. They bring diverse and complementary expertise to the development of innovative antibody therapies

"Venture Kick has provided Remuun with crucial support: The funding, mentoring and access to a broad network of experts have not only accelerated our research, but also sharpened our business strategy," says Richard Chahwan, founder and CEO of Remuun. "The process has challenged us to think bigger, evolve our vision and position Remuun as an innovator in antibody development. We greatly appreciate this support and look forward to the next steps."

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Rather, globalization has moved in two distinct and separate directions: most sectors and trade patterns are evolving at a rapid pace, while a smaller but critical part of the economy is experiencing strong deglobalization, according to a new study by PGIMthe $1.38 trillion global wealth management division of Prudential Financial, Inc (NYSE: PRU).

For investors, this "twin-track" world presents new opportunities and risks in different countries and industries such as AI, high-end semiconductors, 5G telecom networks, rare minerals, fossil fuels, electric vehicles and military technology. This underlines the need to stress test portfolios and manage strategic investments in a dynamic and fragmented global economy.

In "A New Era of Globalization", PGIM's megatrend research team explores the concept of this twin-track globalization era and finds that despite recent tariff measures and the prospect of an ongoing trade war, around 75 % of the world's economy continues to ride the "fast lane" of globalization - relying on efficient global supply chains and not held back by national security concerns.

"Increasing geopolitical tensions and trade restrictions could give the impression that the pendulum of globalization is swinging strongly in the opposite direction and that national interests are being played off against the global common good. However, the reality is much more nuanced," explains Shehriyar Antia, Head of Thematic Research at PGIM. "Even as America's protected economic space expands, about 80 percent of global trade takes place outside the U.S., and companies in most industries will still want to take advantage of free trade and competitive advantages."

Investment opportunities despite new risks in trade and supply chains

Investors should not simply ignore sectors that are losing momentum as a result of globalization due to tariffs and industrial policy. Instead, they should consider the structural advantages that individual companies and parts of the value chain can have over others:

Artificial intelligence and high-performance semiconductors

The rivalry between China and the US is further fragmenting the market for high-performance computer chips, which are crucial for AI applications. However, industry leaders such as TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) have customers in different segments and have already started to diversify their geographic footprint to minimize regional risks.

Electric vehicles

Manufacturers such as Tesla and the Chinese company BYD have secured an early leadership position as the world switches to electric vehicles. Despite high tariffs in Europe and the USA, BYD has growth opportunities in South East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and is entering the luxury market. Tesla is focusing on self-driving cabs with huge market potential.

Logistics real estate on the border between the USA and Mexico

Despite a dynamic and unsettled trade environment between the two nations, nearshoring dynamics are providing a tailwind for logistics real estate along the U.S.-Mexico border as demand from large multinational manufacturers is constant and goods arriving on U.S. soil need to be reloaded.

Metals and minerals

The projected long-term demand for metals such as copper, which are critical to several important industries, currently exceeds supply. Two pure copper mining companies - Ivanhoe Mines and Ero Copper - are characterized by solid growth prospects, while Southern Copper and Freeport-McMoRan are positioned as large diversified producers with corresponding economies of scale.

Identifying the national winners for nearshoring

Investors may find attractive opportunities in countries that are well positioned to become nearshoring candidates - with existing manufacturing capacity, advantageous access to free trade zones or competitive advantages in the business environment and labor costs:

South America:

• Chile and Peru as the main suppliers of minerals in high demand, such as lithium and copper
• Brazil for the rapid expansion of rare minerals mining, which has taken the country from zero exports to the fifth largest lithium exporter in the world in less than two years

Asia-Pacific region:

• Australia for a wide range of metals and minerals
• India for scaling modern electronics and pharmaceuticals
• Vietnam for its low-cost production base in the clothing and electronics sectors

Europe, the Middle East and Africa:

• Poland and the Czech Republic as nearshore centers for EU manufacturers competing with the higher production costs in Western Europe
• Morocco for pharmaceutical and automotive supply chains

"Protectionist trade and industrial policies are on the rise again and are causing turbulence in global markets," says Taimur Hyat, Chief Operating Officer of PGIM. "In the long term, however, it is crucial for companies and their investors to produce where it is most cost-effective and efficient. It is therefore likely that globalization will prevail in industries that make up the majority of the world economy and cannot be easily pigeonholed into a national security concept."

Further information can be found in "A New Era of Globalization: Shifting Opportunities in a Dual-Track World" or under pgim.com/megatrendswhere you can gain additional insights for investors.

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/pgim-studie-zeigt-globalisierung-lebt-aber-sie-veraendert-sich-grundlegend/

From June 2 to 5, 2025, agile researchers, practitioners, thought leaders, coaches and trainers will meet at the FHNW Campus Brugg-Windisch to present their latest research results and innovations. The XP attracts people from all over the world and offers a diverse and inclusive environment for learning and inspiring discussions.

Focus on artificial intelligence (AI)

AI tools have established themselves in the industry in just a few years and their performance has increased rapidly. Together with trends such as platform engineering, conversational applications, sustainable software development and other innovations, the way we design, develop and operate software is changing fundamentally. At the same time, software has long been part of the critical infrastructure - it forms the backbone of many companies and is crucial to their success.

The guiding theme of XP 2025 is therefore: "Adapt - finding better ways to create valuable software products". The focus is on the question of how agile software development can evolve - and which active design options are opening up in the process.

Conference highlights

The organization team was able to attract four exciting keynote speakers:

• Birgitta Böckeler, software developer, architect and technical director at Thought-Works, explains how AI can help agile development teams - and not just with code.
• Darja ŠmiteProfessor of Software Development at the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden, talks about the opportunities and risks of remote and hybrid forms of work for agile collaboration in teams.
• Emily BacheConsultant, YouTuber and Technical Coach, explains in her keynote speech how agile development teams can be brought to peak performance through technical coaching - and at the same time take the skills of developers and the quality culture to a new level.
• Joshua Kerievskyauthor, software developer and founder of Industrial Logic, talks about risk management in the development of commercial software.

The keynotes will be complemented by a varied program: practical and scientific workshops, field reports, research papers and training for industry and practice experts.

A special highlight is the Open Space on Wednesday: under the motto "Bring your topic", it offers space for self-organized discussions - on the topics that are currently moving the community.

Key data

• XP 2025
• June 2 - 5, 2025
• Location: FHNW Campus Brugg-Windisch
• Language: English

Registration for the XP Conference is now open.

The committee is made up of well-known personalities from the worlds of business and science. Reinhard Frei, who has shaped the Forum for many years, will continue to serve the Forum in an advisory capacity as Chairman of the Advisory Board. He will be joined by political scientist and America expert Claudia Franziska Brühwiler from the HSG, former NZZ journalist and former Director of Avenir Suisse Gerhard Schwarz and Klaus Brammertz, President of AGV Rheintal. The team is completed by Karin Krawczyk, Managing Director of Galledia Event AG, who is also the new Conference Director, Urs Schneider, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Galledia Group, and Daniel Ettlinger, CEO of the Galledia Group.

The content planning is now in full swing. The constituent meeting of the advisory board took place this week in St. Gallen. The final program will be published in summer 2025. Until then, stay tuned!

The 31st Rhine Valley Economic Forum will take place on January 16, 2026.

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"This award is a great honor for our team and a confirmation of our work in the field of sustainable food production. We are delighted with the recognition and see it as an incentive to further develop our technology and expand it internationally," says Vincent Vida, CEO of Upgrain.

Innovative use of spent grains

Upgrain has developed an innovative process for refining spent grains, a by-product of beer brewing. Together with the Locher brewery, the company commissioned Europe's largest spent grains processing plant last year. The plant processes around 25,000 tons of spent grains annually into proteins, fibre and other valuable ingredients for the food industry. These are used as a flour substitute, to improve the texture of baked goods and meat substitute products and as a basis for protein-rich snacks and drinks.

This process helps to reduce CO₂ emissions, saves water and reduces the need to cultivate land for traditional protein sources such as wheat or soy. The Locher brewery alone saves over 5,500 tons of CO₂ every year. The process is internationally scalable and will play an important role in the food industry, as the first production lines show.

Integration into Swiss army catering

The Swiss Armed Forces have also recently started using spent grains-based foods as a sustainable meat substitute to feed soldiers. The Locher brewery produces these under the "brewbee" brand from its own spent grains, which are processed using the Upgrain system. These products meet the high requirements of army rations in terms of nutritional content and satiety.

Aurèle Meyer, Managing Director of Locher Brewery, emphasizes the importance of this development: "The start-up Upgrain has shown that it has created a scalable innovation in the field of food upcycling, which makes the side streams of our brewery versatile."

Upgrain had already won the START Summit in 2021 - back then as a start-up idea. With the support and prize money that came with this award, Upgrain was able to win the Locher brewery as a partner and build the spent grains processing plant in Appenzell. Vincent Vida emphasizes: "Without the START Summit, we would not be where we are today: At the forefront of the fight against food waste and with Europe's largest spent grains processing plant in full operation."

Source: www.upgrain.ch

Data security is becoming increasingly relevant for companies and authorities. Instead of focusing on protecting the network and the perimeter, they must first and foremost protect the data itself. To do this, they should assign them a confidentiality level and derive from this what may and may not be done with them so as not to expose them to increased risk. This enables them to protect data regardless of where it is stored and thus ensure the security of their intellectual property in distributed IT environments.

But that's not all. A data-centric IT security approach also helps companies and authorities to meet numerous compliance requirements, as many laws, regulations and standards now demand precautions for data security. IT security specialist Forcepoint shows what these are.

1. data protection laws

The GDPR requires companies to take appropriate measures to protect personal data from loss, theft or unauthorized access. They must also ensure that customers can exercise their data protection rights. They must be able to provide them with information about what data they store about them and delete data on request. However, companies that operate internationally not only have to deal with the GDPR, but also with other data protection laws, as the majority of countries around the world have now introduced laws to protect personal data.

2. IT security laws

The European Union's NIS2 Directive aims to improve cyber security in the EU and imposes strict requirements on companies that are classified as critical and important entities. These requirements include real-time monitoring of sensitive data and restricted access to such information. The directive is soon to be transposed into national law in Germany and integrated into the existing IT Security Act. This law will therefore affect significantly more companies than before

3. industry standards

In addition to general laws, many companies are confronted with industry-specific regulations and standards. The recently enacted EU regulation DORA, for example, is intended to strengthen the digital resilience of the financial sector and requires financial companies to protect the availability, confidentiality and integrity of their data. The TISAX industry standard regulates information security in the automotive industry and ensures in particular that uniform security standards are adhered to when exchanging sensitive data and prototypes. Many automotive manufacturers now require their suppliers and service providers to be TISAX-certified.

4. standards

The ISO 27001 standard for information security management systems also focuses on the security and protection of data. The new version of the standard from 2022 is accordingly entitled "Information Security, Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection". Companies seeking certification for the first time or seeking recertification must implement new security measures. These include the classification of information, information security when using cloud services, the deletion of information and the prevention of data leaks.

"Modern data security solutions can significantly help companies and authorities to meet the numerous compliance requirements for their data security," explains Frank Limberger, Data & Insider Threat Security Specialist at Forcepoint in Munich. "Good solutions reliably detect data across all storage locations and classify it largely automatically with the help of artificial intelligence. This enables organizations to know what sensitive data they have and where it is located. In the form of guidelines, they can then set specifications for the permissible handling of data and monitor compliance in order to detect and prevent data breaches."

Source: www.forcepoint.com/de

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/alle-wollen-datensicherheit/

In the 2024 financial year, GKB achieved the second-best result in its history in a challenging interest rate environment. This demonstrates the strength of the bank's business model with its mainstays in the interest, investment and pension business. The current annual report provides detailed information on how this result was achieved. In addition to the annual financial statements and the management and risk report, it also contains information on GKB's strategy and corporate governance.

The sustainability and climate report is also part of the reporting. The topic of sustainability has been integrated into the GKB strategy since 2020 and is therefore anchored throughout the bank in every area. GKB promotes the quality of life in Graubünden with clear guidelines on the key topics of economy, ecology and social issues, taking into account the concerns of all its stakeholder groups. The report is based on the current standard of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

The climate report, published for the first time, transparently shows how GKB deals with climate issues and how it intends to achieve the "net zero target" by 2050 as part of its sustainability strategy. The climate report is now part of the comprehensive annual financial and non-financial reporting and is based on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The Graubündner Kantonalbank's Annual and Sustainability Report 2024 is available at report.gkb.ch available as an online and PDF version.

Source: www.gkb.ch

The Swiss IGF is the national offshoot of the UN Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF). It was launched in 2005 at the UN World Summit on the Information Society. Since 2015, the Swiss IGF, under the auspices of the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), has provided a central platform for multi-stakeholder dialog on internet and digital policy issues in Switzerland and is enjoying steadily growing numbers of participants.

The Swiss IGF is characterized by its inclusive, bottom-up approach. Representatives from politics, business, science and civil society discuss the opportunities and challenges of digitalization in Switzerland on an equal footing. Any interested person or institution can take part in the Swiss IGF. The agenda is determined by a "Call for Issues". All interest groups can propose topics - from cyber security and artificial intelligence to net neutrality and platform regulation. As a nationwide initiative, the forum will be held predominantly in German, French and English.

Financial and structural independence

The founding of the association now enables the Swiss IGF to be more broadly supported in the national community and simplifies long-term co-financing by third parties. The foundation stone for this is being laid by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland with a generous three-year grant. The aim is to establish a structure supported by the community. "The aim of the funding is to ensure the financial and structural independence of the Swiss IGF in the long term. This is central to the credibility of the conference as a neutral platform for intersectoral, digital policy dialog," says Riccardo Ramacci. He is Portfolio Manager Digitalization and Democracy at Mercator.

"After ten years of successful informal development work, the time was ripe for this step," explains Thomas Schneider, Deputy Director of Bakom and co-initiator of the Swiss IGF 10 years ago. "The new association will continue the proven basic principles of open dialog and inclusive participation of all interest groups. Bakom continues to support the organization of the conference and is pleased that the new set-up will allow even better involvement of the community and other projects in addition to the annual conference." Bakom continues to act as patron of the Swiss IGF and contributes to its funding.

New structure strengthens Swiss IGF in the long term

From an executive point of view, the founding of the association marks the end of the successful development work of the co-secretariat with Jacques Beglinger and Livia Walpen, who have brought the Swiss IGF to its current significance with great care. Nicolas Zahn, who has been a member of the Swiss IGF core team for some time, is taking over the management of the new structure. "It gives me great pleasure to take on this task. The Swiss IGF has grown continuously in recent years and the understanding of the importance of such a unique platform for constructive digital policy exchange is constantly increasing. The new structure will allow us to grow sustainably and further deepen this exchange by involving all stakeholder groups. The goal for 2025 is clearly to establish this new structure and actively expand our member base, also in order to expand and broaden the Board of Directors at the next General Assembly. Another important goal will be to develop a sustainable financing model. The Swiss IGF has proven over the years that it creates value for the digital governance community, which is why I am confident that we will find a solid model here."

The association will continue to organize the Swiss Internet Governance Forum conference in its new structure. It will take place this year in October. Following its foundation and an initial General Assembly, the association invites interested stakeholders from the digital governance community to join. The next General Assembly will take place at the beginning of October 2025 as part of the Swiss IGF Conference and will provide an opportunity for broad participation by the various stakeholder groups.

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This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/nach-10-jahren-swiss-igf-verein-swiss-internet-digital-governance-gegruendet/

The jury, consisting of Aysen Karaman (peer), Zsolt Temesvary (science), Mariam Cissé (practice) and Billy Ostertag (politics), honored Crescenda's Equipa project for its important work in social work in the region.

Crescenda's Equipa project supports women with migration experience at various levels and also takes social, economic and political factors into account. Equipa operates as a cleaning company that is run as a social enterprise. The participating women not only benefit from secure employment, but also receive a fair wage for their work. This is particularly important in the cleaning industry, which is often characterized by low wages and unfavourable working conditions. In contrast, Equipa promotes equal opportunities and comprehensive work integration. The women organize their working hours and activities in self-directed groups, which gives them more autonomy and co-determination.

Support for women with migration experience

The model of the cleaning cooperative as a social entrepreneurial project has considerable potential for expansion so that even more women can be involved at different locations in the future. The project also helps to promote the economic independence, personal growth and social participation of the participating women. A significant advantage of Equipa is that the women do not necessarily have to remain in the cleaning industry. Through personalized advice and further training, they have the opportunity to develop additional skills and try out other fields of work later on. This significantly increases the potential for self-determination and, in line with the empowerment principle of social work, strengthens the women not only professionally, but also in other areas of life. Equipa thus combines elements of individual social work and community work in an outstanding way, creating holistic support for women with migration experience.

The award ceremony took place yesterday, Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at Humbug (Klybeck-Areal) in Basel with almost 100 enthusiastic guests. The program was enriched by Nadia Bisang (Co-Managing Director Avenir Social, Franziska Roth-Bräm (Member of the Basel-Stadt SP Parliament) and the Tres Vencejos Band, Flamenco Oriental. The award ceremony concluded with an aperitif organized by "Migrants help migrants". The expert jury and the organization team were delighted with the numerous, very good and varied project submissions.

Source: www.equipa.ch

Her eight-month journey as a career ambassador begins on April 7; Lara Margiotta will make stops at over 20 timber construction companies. In the regions, she will visit sixth form classes, provide insights into her profession and share her passion for building with wood with the pupils. As a young specialist, she inspires the young people and, as a woman in timber construction, also acts as a special role model. Lara Margiotta is looking forward to her new role: "I am excited to share my experience with young people and introduce them to the fascinating world of timber construction. It is a unique opportunity for me to contribute to the promotion of young talent in our trade."

Practical insights and inspiration for young professionals

In lively short presentations, Lara Margiotta takes young people on a journey of discovery through the carpentry profession and arouses their interest in a future with wood. She provides support with questions about apprenticeships, gives tips on choosing a career and shares her fresh professional experience. Her personal account makes timber construction tangible for young people. She also offers a practice-oriented, half-day workshop that provides an intensive experience of the diverse work with wood. The committed ambassador will also be promoting timber construction at various careers fairs in the fall to attract the specialists and managers of tomorrow.

On the road through Swiss timber construction companies

Lara Margiotta travels around Switzerland and spends every week in a different timber construction company - from family-run carpentry businesses to large companies and specialized firms. In addition to her school lectures, she is an apprentice herself at her hosts. In the spirit of the traditional waltz, she gains professional experience and expands her knowledge of machines, techniques and everyday working life. The exchange with the many people in the industry, the "Hölzige", is particularly important to her. Lara Margiotta reports on her experiences on social media and - together with the timber construction companies - presents the apprenticeship as a carpenter EFZ as an exciting career entry.

Carpenter - a profession with a future

From garden sheds to modern timber high-rise buildings: carpenters build with wood and shape a sustainable future. They work in teams on exciting projects, operate high-tech machines and plan complex constructions. Precision is required: sawing, milling, planing, drilling, screwing, nailing. They produce walls, roofs and ceilings in the hall. On the construction site, they assemble the elements, which weigh several tons, and install the sub-roof and occasionally the façade. The profession is versatile: carpenters combine traditional craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology. Timber construction professionals are in demand because wood is a climate-friendly material. Trees extract CO2 from the atmosphere, release oxygen and store carbon. Built-in wood extends this storage period by decades. A profession with a future, in every respect.

Source: www.holzbau.ch