Association Ouvrière

For more than nine centuries, Les Compagnons du Devoir has been helping young people develop their skills to a high level in their chosen trade. Sharing knowledge and expertise, traveling, and community life are the cornerstones of Les Compagnons du Devoir.

Our itinerant workers/trainees travel from company to company, city to city, region to region, and country to country. Traveling with a toolbox is an adventure, a journey of self-discovery, a broadening of horizons, and an improvement in career prospects. Differences become a source of enrichment and understanding, contributing to professional, cultural, and personal education. As we expect our itinerants/trainees to be open to international travel, we also welcome young people who wish to train with us in France.

Employers working in partnership with the Compagnons du Devoir have the opportunity to hire skilled and reliable itinerants/trainees with varying levels of experience. Such young people can improve their work skills, bring flexibility, motivation, and intercultural exchange. We also have the means to provide customized in-house training for company employees.

The first journeymen arrived in Switzerland in 1976, most of them carpenters. The first Maison de Compagnons (Journeymen's House) was established in Lutry (VD), on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Since then, many other trades have come to visit the country, attracted by Switzerland's unique expertise. These include carpenters, who came to learn about the construction of wooden chalets in the mountains. Then, in the 2000s, roofers settled in the area, fascinated by local tinworking techniques.

Since then, many other journeymen have found happiness in Switzerland, and today there are 75 permanent residents to accompany our young people in training. At present, the house in Lutry (VD) no longer exists, but we have six reception centers for our young people undergoing further training in Switzerland.