With a great deal of commitment, perseverance and skill, over 1000 young professionals competed for the title of Swiss champion in their profession. On the evening of September 20, 2025, the three best participants in each profession received the well-deserved reward for their outstanding performance in the form of a medal at the emotional award ceremony. This took place in front of around 6,000 visitors in the PostFinance Arena. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, who had already visited SwissSkills 2025 on Thursday, took the opportunity to personally congratulate every medal winner during the almost four-hour award ceremony. "Bravo, you have achieved great things," said Minister for Economic Affairs Parmelin, who himself once completed an apprenticeship as a farmer. "Passion, skill, professional pride - that's what has moved us in recent days. And I say it with conviction: Their skills are a promise for the future."

The canton of Bern wins the most medals

The medal tally shows: The canton of Bern was the most successful with 66 medals. It was followed by St. Gallen with 34 and Zurich with 28 awards. But it's not just the quantity that counts! In terms of the number of participants, Glarus and Nidwalden fared best. They were followed by Solothurn and Thurgau, which impressively demonstrated how much passion and quality there is in vocational training in their region.

When the BERNEXPO site becomes a classroom

From Wednesday to Friday, over 65,000 pupils in 2,100 classes transformed the BERNEXPO site into a living classroom. Instead of textbook theory, there was pure practice: welding, programming, serving, bricklaying, hairdressing. For many, it was their first encounter with professions they had only heard about before. The young people were amazed, asked countless questions and tried out the more than 150 professions themselves at the "Try a Skill" stations. These encounters make vocational training not only tangible, but also an emotional experience - impressions that have a lasting impact on the career choice process.

Crafts remain indispensable

Under the motto "When ChatGPT needs electricity - who lays the cable?", the Swiss Construction and Building Envelope core group demonstrated at SwissSkills the central role that the finishing and building envelope professions play in the Swiss working world. The focus was on promoting young talent and the career prospects of talented young people. A
A topic that is more relevant than ever in view of the shortage of skilled workers. With more than 30,000 apprentices, the industry is not only one of the largest training providers in Switzerland, but also a guarantee for practical and future-proof career paths. A tour of SwissSkills showed just how diverse the industry is and how broad the opportunities are for young talent. Konrad Imbach, Central President of Ceruniq, stated: "Especially in times of automation and artificial intelligence, it is clear how important craftsmanship remains. Technology alone does not build houses."

More information: Results | SwissSkills

The fact that the world is moving faster and faster can no longer be denied. In her welcome address, presenter Sabine Bianchi referred to a study from 2007, which showed that the walking speed of pedestrians worldwide had increased by 10 percent. Today, it is probably even faster.

Personnel development: a management task

Personnel development must also keep pace with the increasing speed of change. Accordingly, the theme of the 21st Eastern Switzerland Personnel Day, which took place on September 18, 2025 in OLMA Hall 9.1 in St.Gallen, was "Personnel development in the modern working world". The Eastern Switzerland HR Day is one of the most important HR conferences in Eastern Switzerland. It aims to bring together HR experts, HR specialists and HR managers as well as managers from SMEs to discuss current and fundamental issues. Dr. Kerstin Helfmann, lecturer at OST - Ostschweizer Fachhochschule, and Silvia Coiro, Head of Diversity at schilling partners ag, introduced the conference. They noted that personnel development begins with recruitment. One of the speakers' key messages was that we need to move away from rigid job profiles and focus more on the development potential of applicants and employees. The future lies in skills-based recruitment.

The filling of key positions in particular must be approached strategically: "A board of directors that does not plan the succession of the management is not doing its job properly," says Silvia Coiro. What's more, personnel development is a fundamental management task, as line managers are also required to identify potential successors for their position.

Learning and culture: inextricably linked

What role do learning culture and leadership play in personnel development? This was the topic of the panel discussion with Christof Oswald, Head of HR Bühler, André Schmid, Head of HR Empa and Marko Draguljic, Head of Learning & Development at the Sefar Group. The conversation quickly turned to the importance of values. As Christof Oswald emphasized, these must be communicated from the very beginning, starting with the apprentices. And this is a central management task. André Schmid referred to the innovative climate that prevails at Empa, "supported by values". However, a growing problem is the decreasing resilience, especially of young employees. The participants agreed that developing this resilience and also more personal responsibility is becoming an increasingly important task for management. This is primarily achieved by conveying a sense of purpose and trust and allowing freedom.

Christian Heiniger, Head of Learning & Development at Hilti, then gave a concrete insight into a company's learning culture. This is based on the pillars "Learn", "Reflect" and "Perform", anchored in a corporate culture that unites purpose, a clear corporate strategy and people. In this sense, shaping the culture at Hilti is a top priority for management, the Board of Directors and the owners. Prioritizing learning and culture is something that pays off in the long term, says Heiniger. And the expectation for managers at Hilti is also clear: develop employees and achieve great results.

An AI-dominated future?

Jacqueline Gasser-Beck, Head of the Teaching Innovation Lab at the University of St. Gallen, spoke about the fact that technology also has an important role to play in staff development and continuing education. Using a case study, she showed how various AI tools can be used by lecturers and students today. Artificial intelligence also offers more and more potential applications for HR, as the speaker explained. However, she always referred to the "human in the loop": humans are crucial for checking the AI-generated output. "Evaluation and critical questioning are tasks that are less at risk of being replaced by AI," said Gasser-Beck. This is in stark contrast to analytical and increasingly creative jobs.

Sven Gábor Jánszky, Head of the Zukunftsinstitut 2b AHEAD ThinkTank, ignited a whole firework display of future prospects at the end of the conference. AI will play an increasingly central role in this. "At some point, there may be more humanoid robots and AI agents than humans," he said. He referred to a "reality gap" that exists between linear technology development, as we have experienced to date, and the exponential development driven by the technology leaders. "Our problem is that we place too much trust in our experiences from the past. But the future does not come from the past," says Jánszky. He sees the "predictive economy", an economic model in which business decisions are guided by forecast-based data analysis and AI, as a way out of this reality gap. And this will inevitably change work in HR and demand adaptive processes. Jánszky replied to those in the audience who were perhaps wondering whether they should look forward to this future: "It's coming anyway". Be that as it may, the date of the next Eastern Switzerland HR Day has been set: September 10, 2026.

More information: www.personaltag.ch

Around 270 members attended the annual general meeting at the Hotel Bellevue Palace in Bern on September 18, 2025. Two new Board members were welcomed at this event: Lukas Bigler joins the Board as the new representative of SVC Gold Partner Swisscom. Christophe Nicolet is Managing Director of PX Précinox SA and will also represent the interests of French-speaking Switzerland on the Board.

On October 1, 2025, Franziska Bürki will also take over the management of the SVC. After around 20 years of professional experience in the field of economic policy, most recently as Head of Public Affairs at Raiffeisen Switzerland, the 46-year-old business economist is looking forward to her new role in the SME sector. "Swiss companies are doing a great job. Together with the team and the support of our partners, we want to showcase the excellence of SMEs to everyone. I am honored to be able to personally advocate for our SMEs in the future," Franziska Bürki introduced herself to the members.

The meeting bid a fitting farewell to the two retiring Board members Urs Lehner and Michael Willimann, thanking them for their great commitment. SVC President Hans Baumgartner thanked the retiring Managing Director Michael Fahrni for his many years of service in a laudatory speech.

Hans Baumgartner proudly announced the upcoming 25th anniversary year and the innovations surrounding the awarding of the Prix SVC. The Prix SVC Aargau Solothurn will be held for the first time in 2026. He is looking forward to repositioning the SVC with new momentum.

Source and further information: www.svc.swiss

Even if many people talk about it: The paperless office has barely arrived in the vast majority of companies. Small and medium-sized companies have dozens, sometimes hundreds of printers standing around and are still in heavy use. From an environmental point of view, printers are a major problem: their production consumes a lot of valuable raw materials and they are generally disposed of far too quickly and in a dirty manner. Sachs Printing AG has been fighting this problem for more than fifteen years. The company has therefore now been accepted into the Ethik Society - an award for its practical commitment to the environment and its wide-ranging sustainability efforts.

Switzerland is one of the largest producers of electronic waste

"A district of Accra, the capital of Ghana, is home to the largest landfill site for electronic waste in the whole of Africa. A large proportion of this waste comes from Europe. The old appliances are incinerated there. This makes Agbogbloshie one of the most toxic places in the world. Around 85 percent of the electronic devices disposed of work perfectly or could be repaired. Printers and photocopiers are part of this throwaway problem because they are replaced after four to five years, even though this is not necessary. It is worth noting that Switzerland is one of the largest producers of electronic waste per capita per year. The amount is increasing every year - a serious consequence of our increasingly digitalized world," explains Reto Sachs, founder and CEO of Sachs Printing AG. As a farmer's son, nature is close to his heart, which is why he decided to take a new and pragmatic approach as a pioneer in his industry.

Small problems, big impact

With its Sachs Printing AG, Sachs offers a solution that doubles the service life of printers on average, optimizes their strategic use and both reduces the consumption of ink and toner and optimizes their procurement. "We increase efficiency and relieve IT departments of annoying printer problems, thereby increasing our customers' revenue. But we are also reducing the burden on the environment and solving a major problem," says Sachs. The entrepreneur thus makes it clear that growth and efficiency are not at odds with sustainability and environmental protection.

Economy and ecology are not a contradiction

"That's why we have accepted Sachs Printing AG and entrepreneur Reto Sachs into the Ethik Society and honored him," explains Jürgen Linsenmaier. Jürgen Linsenmaier is the founder of the Ethik Society and honors personalities who are particularly committed to sustainability, the economy for the common good, business ethics and the compatibility of economy and ecology. "Sachs Printing AG is an outstanding example of how even supposedly small things like printing can help to get environmental problems under control and make business more sustainable." There are many ways to make a company more sustainable, socially and environmentally friendly, even away from the big beacons. "It's usually the everyday things that are particularly helpful in acting in a more environmentally conscious way. Reto Sachs is a good role model for others by creating solutions," says Linsenmaier.

Role model for others

Sachs Printing AG is one of several companies from Switzerland that are members of the Ethik Society. A total of around 100 companies from the entire DACH region have already been awarded the coveted membership. Each one makes its contribution to the respective industry and society and serves as a model for sustainable business practices and the principles of the honorable businessman.

Sources and further information: www.sachsprinting.ch / www.ethik-society.de

The Swiss AI job market is highly competitive. An analysis of 4,703 job advertisements in the new Swiss AI Jobs Report 2025 published by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in collaboration with the labor market research firm x28 and the Local AI Community LAC shows: With 1,773 positions, a large proportion of the national AI jobs fall to the canton of Zurich. "As the largest business location and tech hub in Switzerland, Zurich is leading the way as expected, partly due to its population density," says co-author of the study Florian Bär from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. However, the demand for AI specialists is also high in smaller cantons such as Geneva and Zug. "If you look at the number of AI jobs per capita, Zug is one of the best in the country," says Bär. One reason for this is the innovation and finance center Crypto Valley, which has made the canton of Zug a leading global blockchain center.

Demanding procedures and high academic requirements

The geographical concentration is intensifying the already intense competition for qualified specialists. According to HR managers from Swiss companies, hundreds of applications are often received for a single position, while vacancies are often closed within a week. The race for the coveted AI jobs demands speed and an excellent profile from applicants. Interested candidates must be prepared for demanding, multi-stage selection procedures, which usually comprise two to four rounds and involve solving technical case studies. Higher academic degrees are often a basic requirement: specialized roles such as that of a data scientist often require a master's degree or even a doctorate.

Specialized professionals are in demand

Companies are focusing their AI recruitment on roles in the areas of data engineering, data science, machine learning and data analysis. This underlines the crucial importance of data as a key value driver in AI systems. This is reflected in the preference for skills such as software development, database engineering, cloud computing, statistical analysis, data visualization and natural language processing. "Demand for workers is particularly high in specialist areas that deal with the development, implementation and management of complex data-driven systems," says Bär. Highly qualified jobs requiring in-depth expertise are emerging in this segment - in contrast to pure user expertise for AI-based tools such as Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude.

IT, finance and research dominate the AI job market

In Switzerland, the demand for AI specialists is mainly driven by three sectors: information technology leads the way with 1,205 jobs, making it the largest employer in this area. This is followed by the financial sector with 552 jobs and the research and education sector with 435 jobs. These three sectors are mainly concentrated in the canton of Zurich and Central Switzerland. There, the five most important sectors - information technology, financial services, research and education, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, and legal and business consulting - account for more than 60 percent of all AI jobs. "It is surprising how strongly the IT sector continues to dominate the AI job market. This shows that the actual development and implementation of AI systems still takes place in the core of the tech industry," says Bär. It will be interesting to see when and how quickly other, non-technological sectors reach the maturity level of IT.

Source: HSLU

As an entrepreneur, which task cannot be delegated? Self-management. A topic that is often neglected in the everyday life of SMEs, but is of central importance for the well-being of the company, but also for oneself. The new guide from OBT AG and the Swiss Institute for SMEs and Entrepreneurship at the University of St.Gallen focuses on the central task of conscious self-management for entrepreneurs.

Self-management is much more than good time management. It includes key aspects such as delegating tasks, prioritizing one's own activities, dealing with distractions and balancing different roles and responsibilities. The aim is to organize one's own work in such a way that it serves the company and the entrepreneur in the long term.

The guide is aimed specifically at SME entrepreneurs. It invites you to consciously examine, reflect on and actively strengthen your own leadership skills through suggestions and various approaches. Rather than pursuing a theoretical approach, it takes a practical approach: with clear questions, tips and approaches from entrepreneurs of Swiss SMEs, and concrete food for thought for personal assessment. Fernando Carlen (Partner at Avenir Group), Sandro Keller (Hälg Group), Nils Planzer (Planzer Transport) and Isabel Schorer (Pace Commnication AG) are among those who have their say in the guide. They and other entrepreneurs give honest statements about their own experiences.

The guide can be downloaded at obt.ch/self-guidance can be downloaded.

The scent of vanilla probably triggers pleasant associations in most viewers. The lionesses and lions were no different when they looked at the display of The Vanilla GmbH Manufaktur, founded by Stephan Stemminger. Stephan Stemminger has developed high-quality vanilla products: Vanilla sugar, vanilla salt, vanilla pastes and more. However, his 30-centimeter vanilla pods were a real surprise. This is because the specimens usually available on the market are much smaller. The secret behind it: Stephan imports his vanilla pods from Indonesia, where they traditionally ripen longer and also grow larger than those that usually come from Madagascar. And the pods also seem attractive in terms of price: they cost 15 francs, but offer more vanilla flavor than the competition. "I'm cheaper than the entire market," says Stephan. With 250,000 francs in return for a 15 percent stake, a lioness or lion is to join him in order to drive the branding forward and expand the manufactory across Europe. But even though the lionesses and lions praise his pitch and admire his "one-man show", they see too little potential for an investment. After all, the founder is actually doing everything right, and if it was just a question of money, bank financing would probably also be conceivable, argued Anja Graf, for example. For Tom Zimmermann, the business was also not scalable enough. So there was no deal, even if the lionesses and lions were almost a little sorry afterwards.

Natural cosmetics for men: a trend

Jungkraut AG with its products for men's skin care already has 10,000 customers in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. A record that the founders Andreas and Julia have nothing to hide behind. They seem to have successfully jumped on a big trend: Natural cosmetics for men. The range includes three facial care products and, more recently, a body lotion, a shower gel and an anti-ageing cream. Ingredients from Swiss production are used. But the products come at a price: the body lotion costs CHF 38, the shower gel costs CHF 18 and the eye serum is available for CHF 48. This caused the lions and the lioness to frown. The demand for the sales figures also meant that they were no longer happy to invest: 800,000 francs is the target for the current year. The valuation called for - 350,000 against a 10 percent stake was the bid of the two founders - was too high for Jürg Schwarzenbach, Felix Bertram and Lukas Speiser. Nevertheless, the latter made an offer: 350,000 francs in exchange for 30 percent. Andreas and Julia tried to negotiate it down to 15 percent, but to no avail. Once again, a deal failed not because of the product, branding and entrepreneurial spirit, but because of a somewhat naïve and excessive company valuation. However, the pitch probably also left most viewers with the impression that the two founders will probably make it without a lion investment.

Self-service gyms?

Can a gym do without any staff at all? Yes, with the My Gym app - at least that's what founder David Kohler promises. Behind it is a fully cloud-based ERP system for fitness centers. It allows gym operators to manage their gyms anytime and anywhere, without the need for on-site staff. In turn, customers can use the app to manage their fitness programs and even track their training progress. "This will revolutionize the industry," David is convinced. And the market potential seems to be there: One in ten people in the DACH region has a fitness subscription, and there are around 65,000 gyms across Europe. And David wants to conquer this market. To do so, he needs 150,000 francs in return for a 5 percent stake. Even though the lions had certain reservations about the current status (29 customers) and the growth prospects (Felix Bertram: "You need 1,600 studios to achieve an annual turnover of 10 million"), David was suddenly faced with a luxury problem: Roland Brack offered the 150,000 francs, but wanted a 10 percent stake. Anja Graf also entered the race with 150,000 francs, but against a 15 percent stake. The same offer was made by Lukas Speiser, who brought his market knowledge to the table. In the end, David opted for the most favorable offer in terms of price and thus awarded the contract to Roland Brack, which Anja Graf acknowledged with a shrug of the shoulders. Did the founder perhaps choose the wrong lion?

"Hard facts" for adult games

As the youngest TV viewers had probably long since been sent to bed at this late hour, nothing stood in the way of the presentation of the next company, as it offered "material" for an audience aged 18 and over. "F*** yourself and not the planet" - that was the credo of the two founders Tino and Bastian of MANU fuck TURA. They make sex toys from Swiss walnut wood, all of which are handmade. The idea came about during the lockdown, explained Tino, a carpenter by trade. He was looking for a gift for a good friend and then simply started "spintizing". "After her expertise, we thought we had to set up a company," Tino continued. There seemed to be so much potential for his product that the two have now diversified and added textiles - T-shirts, bed linen - to their range. The "bumpers", as Bastian calls them, certainly have their price: 199 to 369 depending on the model. In return, you (or your wife...) get a completely handmade unique piece with design potential. It's not for nothing that the two have already been in the final for the Swiss Design Award with their products. And Tino and Bastian also seem to be doing well in business, but they would still be happy with an investment of 75,000 Swiss francs in exchange for 20 percent of the shares - one of the first truly realistic company valuations to be heard this season. Despite all the sympathy, it didn't work out with a deal. Nicole Büttner-Thiel thought the case was well-developed, so the two founders probably didn't need an investor at all. The others - even sextoy expert Lukas Speiser and specialist in skin and sexually transmitted diseases Felix Bertram - also saw little investment potential. So the pitch didn't provide more than good entertainment and a few raunchy remarks, but it was certainly enough publicity for their own cause. Tino and Bastian will certainly go their own way.

Childcare in day care families

Afterwards, things got a little more informal again in the lions' den. Nidino AG, founded by Sarah and Christian, enables parents to look after other children for a fee. Qualified people without children are also welcome as childminders. The service is cheaper and more flexible than daycare centers and is also aimed at kindergarten and school children. The start-up takes care of training, insurance and all administrative matters. Sarah and Christian are now at the point of expanding the business. The plan is to create 200 childcare places with a 50% occupancy rate by the end of the year. As a financial injection to achieve this goal, they would like 120,000 francs in return for a 5 percent share. The need seems to be there: around half a million parents are not participating in the labor market because they cannot afford childcare in daycare centers. Despite reservations - Felix Bertram doubted that the business would become profitable within a reasonable period of time and the high valuation was also criticized - Bettina Hein and Roland Brack jointly made an offer of 120,000 francs, but in return for a 10 percent stake. Jürg Schwarzenbach and Tom Zimmermann followed suit with the same amount. The founders Sarah and Christian mentioned that they had already held other discussions with investors and had been successful with their high valuation. They therefore made a counter-offer: 120,000 Swiss francs in exchange for 7.5 percent. But the lions did not budge from the 10 percent. Bettina Hein and Roland Brack broke the deadlock by revising their offer: 140,000 francs in exchange for 10 percent of the company. Sarah and Christian accepted. Bettina Hein and Roland Brack see this business case as a real opportunity to actively tackle the issue of a shortage of skilled workers by offering Nidino AG a low-threshold service for the daycare of children.

Conclusion of the episode from September 16, 2025: Solid entertainment value and two business ideas with solutions for real problems that really deserve their deal.

Click here for the program: https://www.oneplus.ch/catalog/1000604

Together with around 70 partners, customers and its employees, peoplefone celebrated its 20th anniversary on September 11 at ETH Zurich. The choice of location was no coincidence, as the telecommunications company has been sponsoring the "Best BSc Thesis Award" since 2023, which is presented to three outstanding Bachelor students from the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (D-ITET) at ETH Zurich.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of this year's peoplefone awards. Teleinformatik Services AG from Zurich was named Key Partner of the Year 2025 and Centrovis GmbH received the Longterm Cooperation Award 2025. At the start of the anniversary event, company founder Christophe Beaud addressed the numerous guests: "Although it's already been 20 years, it feels like we only founded peoplefone two years ago - the start-up spirit is still palpable. In the future, we will continue on the path we have taken with new technologies and promising innovations and will drive peoplefone forward with our team. Artificial intelligence will play a key role in this."

The step towards becoming an international full solution provider

Over the past twenty years, peoplefone has always had the right instinct for successful technological developments. In 2009, for example, the company launched the first Swiss VoIP app, which made it known throughout Switzerland. This was followed in 2012 by peoplefone HOSTED, the company's first own cloud telephone system. In 2017, peoplefone recognized that telephony and video calls belong together and was one of the first Swiss providers to offer telephony integration in Microsoft Teams.

Just one year after its foundation, peoplefone opened a location in Austria. Further branches were quickly added: Poland (2007), Slovakia (2008), Lithuania (2012), Germany (2015) and France (2019). At the same time, peoplefone developed into a full-service provider for corporate customers - initially as an internet provider, then with a data SIM offering and since 2024 also as a mobile provider.

Equipped for the future

Among other things, peoplefone invests in start-ups that focus on the future of communication. Artificial intelligence plays a key role here and is gradually being integrated into the current telephony solutions. At the beginning of 2025, peoplefone STUDIO was launched, an AI-based tool for video presentations. With peoplefone HOLO, another future-proof project is in the pipeline that will make the virtual meeting room a reality.

Protecting the telephone infrastructure from cyber attacks has been a top priority at peoplefone from the very beginning. The data of Swiss customers has always been stored exclusively in Switzerland. With its technical infrastructure, state-of-the-art protection systems, anti-hacking algorithms and redundant data center structure, peoplefone has the right basis to meet the strict EU NIS2 guidelines in the area of cybersecurity.

Source and further information

The joy in the Swiss camp after the announcement of the results at the Closing Ceremony is enormous: the talented professionals of the SwissSkills National Team win eleven medals at EuroSkills in Herning, once again crowning themselves the best nation at these title competitions! This is thanks to the highest average number of medal points per vocational talent of all participating nations. Technical Delegate Martin Erlacher's conclusion is correspondingly positive: "We are incredibly proud of the achievements of our talented professionals. Winning eleven medals from fourteen skills - that's something you have to achieve first."

Six gold medals

The talented Swiss professionals were even the best of the entire competition in six skills, winning the gold medal. The "Fashion Design and Technology" skill was won by the duo Melitta Leu and Paula Stein (both EFZ clothing designers). Marlon Mathieu and Leonardo Soares Sousa (both EFZ commercial apprentices) also came out on top in the "Entrepreneurship / Business Development" skill. The other gold medals went to Alina Knüsel (EFZ automotive mechatronics technician specializing in commercial vehicles in the "Truck and Bus Technology" skill), Carmen Bircher (EFZ painter in the "Painting and Decoration" skill), Maurus Dörig (EFZ carpenter in the "Carpentry" skill) and Andrin Dobler (EFZ agricultural machinery mechanic in the "Heavy Vehicle Technology" skill). The three silver medals won by the SwissSkills National Team went to Jana Gander (EFZ electrician in the "Electrical Installations" skill), Julie Zufferey (EFZ beautician in the "Beauty Therapy" skill) and Florian Hurni (EFZ plasterer in the "Plastering and Dry Wall Systems" skill). Janis Schönenberger (EFZ parquet layer in the "Floor Laying" skill) and Pascal Arnold (EFZ chef in the "Cooking" skill) secured a bronze award. The Swiss delegation also secured two Medallions for Excellence with Mattia Andrea Plattner (EFZ bricklayer in the "Bricklaying" skill, 4th place) and Naibi Giuliana Duttweiler (EFZ hotel and catering tourism clerk in the "Hotel Reception" skill, 5th place).

Four competitors will not compete until November

Four members of the SwissSkills National Team will also take part in the Independent Skills Championships Europe (ISC-E) in the skills Butchery, Glass Construction Technology, Stonemasonry and Metal Roofing. These four skills are not part of the official program of EuroSkills 2025 in Herning and will therefore be held separately. The Butchery competition will take place from November 12 to 15 in Chur. The competitors in the remaining trades will then compete a few days later from November 20 to 23 in Salzburg.

SwissSkills 2025 is just around the corner

This coming weekend, new professional talents will be able to recommend themselves for international assignments at SwissSkills 2025, which will take place in Bern. If you would like to come along next week to get a first-hand impression of the latest generation of young professionals, you can still buy tickets. In total, SwissSkills 2025 will award Swiss champion titles in 92 professions and over 150 different professions will be presented. A total of around 1100 young professional talents will be taking part in SwissSkills 2025.

Source: www.swiss-skills.ch

New solutions and technologies are needed to meet the demands of an increasingly complex world. But how is the innovative strength of companies perceived by the public? ServiceValue, a Cologne-based analysis and consulting company specializing in service quality and relationship management, investigated this question in the "Most Innovative Companies in Switzerland 2025" study.

Two-stage procedure

The most innovative company was determined in two stages. In the first stage of the process, crawling, between July 16, 2023 and July 15, 2025, several 100 million public Swiss internet sources, including editorial websites and social media, were searched for companies, known as entities, in their connection to mentions of certain event types. The relevant event types were the five topic areas of innovation, investment, product innovation, research & development and technology. These subject areas were specified using defined keywords, text and sentence corpora.

In the second stage, processing, the data collected during crawling was evaluated and analyzed with the help of artificial intelligence. For each company or brand, the tonality of each event type was analyzed using text fragments to determine whether the mentions were positive, negative or neutral.

Evaluation according to points

Finally, points were awarded according to equal weighting for the individual event types and their virality. The points system refers to the tonality balance, taking into account the reach. The points are calculated on a scale from 0 to 100 points. The winner receives 100 points and thus sets the benchmark for all other companies surveyed. An award is given to those companies that have achieved an above-average number of points.

Top-rated innovation driver: A bank

What may come as a surprise is that it was not a technology company that came out on top. According to the results of the study, the overall "Most Innovative Company in Switzerland 2025" is the supra-regional bank Valiant Bank, followed by the energy supplier Primeo Energie Group, which is also supra-regional, and the Lucerne Cantonal Hospital. The twenty companies with the best individual scores are listed below.

Best in class | Industry

1. Valiant Bank | Banks - supraregional
2. Primeo Energy Group | Energy supplier (supra-regional)
3. Lucerne Cantonal Hospital | Cantonal Hospitals
4. PLANZER | Logistics company
5. Zuger Kantonalbank | Cantonal Banks
6. AEW Energie | Energy supplier (regional)
7. ALSO | Electronics wholesaler
8. On Running Shoes | Shoe & Clothing Manufacturer
9. energie 360° | Gas supplier
10. St.Galler Kantonalbank | Cantonal Banks
11. Mibelle | Body & facial care manufacturer
12. ebl (Genossenschaft Elektra Baselland) | Energy supplier (regional)
13. Swiss Travel Fund (reka) | Tourism service provider
14. Siegfried | Pharmaceutical company
15. dsm-firmenich | Additive manufacturer
16. Schneider Electric | Automation & system technology provider
17. BREITLING | Watch manufacturer
18. Avaloq | Industry & specialty software provider
19. SAK (St. Gallisch-Appenzellische Kraftwerke) | Energy supplier (regional)
20. Aldi | Food retailer

Other winners include the drugstore Müller, the laboratory equipment manufacturer Haag-Streit, the real estate investment company crowdhouse, the private bank Lombard Odier and Graubündner Kantonalbank.

Switzerland: a hotspot for innovation

Thanks to a vibrant culture of innovation, these companies regularly succeed in launching products on the market that not only meet current customer needs but also set new standards, the study concludes. Technology acts as a driving force here - it creates the conditions for constant further development and establishes the Swiss economic area as a hotspot for future-oriented solutions. "In an international comparison, Switzerland consistently scores as an exceptionally innovative country," says Dr. Claus Dethloff, Managing Director of ServiceValue GmbH, adding: "Companies that conduct research and development contribute to the country's positive image and thus not only provide important impetus for innovation, but also set the course for economic prosperity." 

Source: ServiceValue

The flat roof of the Swiss Post delivery point (ZS) in Kaltenbach TG, which will open in spring 2025, is equipped with a photovoltaic system of 1000m2 and has an annual output of 215 kilowatt peak (kWp). Its output is therefore around six times greater than that of the first system at the animal carcass collection point in Frauenfeld TG, which has been in operation since the end of 2024 (see image above).

Milestone for further market launch

The The second SeasON demonstration system, which is installed in a new industrial building, saves 33 tons of CO2 per year. As a tenant of the building, Swiss Post is thus ensuring CO2-neutral energy production, storage and use at the site and contributing to achieving its Scope 3 net-zero target (eliminating and neutralizing indirect greenhouse gas emissions in its value chain), which it aims to achieve by 2040.

"For us and the team at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the implementation of the project in Kaltenbach is another important milestone on the way to the market launch of our innovative over-seasonal energy storage system SeasON," emphasizes Marc Lüthi, CEO of Matica AG. He adds: "The experience gained from the construction of the system, its installation and the analysis of the operating phase are essential for the efficient further development of our pioneering solution. The fact that we were able to win Swiss Post as a partner for this project demonstrates the market's great interest in innovative long-term energy storage options."

Award-winning collaboration between science and industry

The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) and its industrial partner Matica, which has been manufacturing high-quality water heaters and heat and cold storage tanks for over 50 years, have joined forces for SeasON. "In the development of SeasON, we are mutually dependent and at the same time create a win-win situation between research and practice," emphasizes Marc Lüthi, CEO of Matica. 

Matica AG and HSLU received the prestigious Prix Watt d'Or in the Energy Technologies category for their innovative solution at the beginning of 2025. At the end of September, they will present SeasON at the Swiss-Japan Energy Days 2025 of Swissnex Japan as part of the Expo in Osaka/Japan and are among the finalists for the Swiss Technology Award 2025 in the "Industry Innovation" category. The Frauenfeld engineering firm novus engineering supported the planning of the demonstration plant for Swiss Post's ZS in Kaltenbach TG. As funding partners, the EKT Energy Foundation, the Swiss Climate Foundation and Swiss Post made the realization of the project possible.

How the SeasON long-term energy storage system works

SeasON uses caustic soda as a storage medium. In summer, it is charged with surplus electricity from the PV system by extracting the water. The concentrated caustic soda and the separated water can each be stored in separate tanks at room temperature until winter. In winter, the concentrated caustic solution is diluted again with the separated water. Specifically, the lye absorbs the water, which is evaporated in the closed system using low-temperature heat. The thermochemical process releases both the condensation heat of the water vapor and the mixing heat at a higher temperature. The mass and heat exchanger therefore works as a sorption storage heat pump (SSWP) and provides heating energy with practically no additional electrical energy. The storage tank efficiency is up to 95 percent. 

"SeasON solves several challenges of the energy transition at once and promotes sustainable, efficient energy management," emphasizes Benjamin Fumey, Head of the CC Thermal Energy Systems and Process Engineering research group at the Institute of Mechanical and Energy Engineering at the Lucerne School of Engineering and Architecture. From the plant operator's point of view, the system increases the PV plant's degree of self-utilization, dampens energy price fluctuations and reduces CO2 emissions. In addition, as a long-term energy storage system, SeasON smoothes out seasonal fluctuations in the power grid (peek shaving), relieves the power grid accordingly and does not require any grid expansion.

In addition to surplus summer electricity, SeasON can also store waste heat from industrial processes and data centers without loss and use it to heat buildings in winter. Depending on the operating temperatures, SeasON achieves an energy density of around 300 kWh/m3 and therefore up to six times the capacity of a hot water storage tank.

Source and further information: https://www.season-swiss.ch/. See also our report (for a fee) here: https://www.organisator.ch/de/sustainability/2025-08-26/energie-nachhaltig-speichern/

Best practices from an internal and external family perspective were the focus of this year's CHDU members' meeting. With Anita and Svenja Stebler, Kehrer Stebler AG (s: stebler), as well as Carmen Alvarez and Nadine Zdych, Alemania Deutschschule AG, the Swiss umbrella organization for corporate succession presented successful female entrepreneurs from both succession scenarios. The panel was complemented by Andreas Camenzind, Investment Director of the Renaissance Investment Foundation, which ensures the succession of Swiss SMEs with a unique investment model. The conclusion of the interviews and panel moderated by CHDU Vice President Carla Kaufmann was clear: succession solutions are an attractive alternative to founding a company - as various female entrepreneurs have recognized and successfully implemented. Their stories are still too little known. This makes it all the more important to further strengthen their role model function and appeal in the Swiss succession market, which is what the CHDU is committed to.

Never "have to"

"Absolute voluntariness was the decisive basis of our succession process right from the start. It was important to us that our daughter Svenja was able to choose her career path free of expectations," emphasizes Anita Stebler, CIO & CFO of Kehrer Stebler AG. After gaining experience in other companies, Svenja Stebler made a conscious decision to become a successor. Today, she is responsible for digitalization projects and is a board delegate at Kehrer Stebler AG. "Succession is not only an entrepreneurial task, but also a macroeconomic one. If we act wisely today, we will secure jobs, innovation and the quality of the location tomorrow. So it's all the better that Svenja is involved in this context as a co-creator," says Anita Stebler.

Better to follow than to found

In view of the fact that nine out of ten start-ups fail, former investors Carmen Alvarez and Nadine Zdych made a conscious decision to take the path of company succession. "The offer to take over Alemania Deutschschule AG came unexpectedly - but it quickly became clear that this was an opportunity to expand an existing business model for the future and make it commercially successful again. So why start from scratch when you can build on what already exists," is how Co-CEO Nadine Zdych sums it up. Today, Alemania Deutschschule AG is one of the leading providers of German lessons in Switzerland.

When female entrepreneurs write the future

For the Renaissance Investment Foundation, corporate culture, innovative strength and continuity are among the key success factors in the succession process. "From our many years of supporting family and external successions, we know numerous examples of female entrepreneurs who have made a decisive impact on companies - one of the most impressive is Solo Swiss SA, where the daughter implemented a successful turnaround after taking over from her father, before we were allowed to take over the company in a sustainable state," says Investment Director Andreas Camenzind. Renaissance is also specifically committed to equal career opportunities - for example through training initiatives with apprenticeships in technical professions, projects such as Women in the industry at Condis SA or the financial support for childcare. "This underlines the fact that our long-term ESG strategy is not a nice-to-have but is an integral part of what we do," says Camenzind.

Succession situations in particular show how fresh impetus and new ideas inspire the innovative strength and resilience of Swiss SMEs and make them unique. All the more reason to motivate entrepreneurs for succession, says the CHDU.

Source: CHDU