Watch Industry Races to Train 4,000 Watchmakers as Skills Gap Widens
Switzerland was forecast to need roughly 4,000 new watchmakers by 2026 simply to replace retirees and keep pace with service demand. According to WatchPro, that figure has been circulating in the trade press for years, and the industry’s response is finally visible: tuition-free brand academies, WOSTEP-certified schools, UK assembly shops and collector-funded scholarships.
The shortfall is not new. The Quartz Crisis of the 1970s emptied benches for a generation. When mechanical watches returned as a collector product, brands sold more pieces than they could guarantee would be serviced in ten or twenty years. What changed in 2025–2026 is the scale of the training build-out.
Where the New Seats Are
| Programme | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rolex Watchmaking Training Center | Dallas, Texas | 18 months, tuition-free, stipend, tools; opened 2023. Lititz Watch Technicum closed 2025 after 24 years. |
| Nicolas G. Hayek Watchmaking Schools (Swatch Group / WOSTEP) | Miami, Grenchen, plus UK partner | Miami trains eight students per year; Grenchen has sent graduates into the UK market. |
| British School of Watchmaking | Manchester | 1-year (1,800 hours) or 2-year (3,000 hours) WOSTEP courses, about £11,200 per year including toolkit. |
| Paris Junior College Horology Technology | Texas | One of four remaining full-time independent US programmes; capacity nearly doubled in the past year. |
According to WatchPro, Rolex’s Dallas centre requires no prior watchmaking experience. Seven instructors emphasise mentorship as well as repair. The centre now concentrates US Rolex training after Lititz closed. It sits alongside the Richemont-backed North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking in Dallas/Fort Worth and North Seattle College’s Watch Technology Institute.
Swatch Group’s stated rationale is blunt: a watch is a product that needs servicing for its lifetime, so qualified watchmakers are required “in the past, today, and in the future.” Demand for places remains strong among both women and men, the group says.
Britain’s Bottleneck Is Teachers, Not Brands
Alistair Audsley, CEO of the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, told WatchPro that more than 70% of existing British watch brands were founded in the last ten years. Revenue and unit counts are growing; onshore making is not. Studio Underd0g’s acquisition of Horologium and the opening of its own assembly line, plus Loupe Works (founded by Beaucroft) and in-house benches at Fears and Vertex, are early signs of assembly returning to the UK.
The arithmetic of apprenticeships is the constraint. “An apprenticeship requires two people: the apprentice and the master. Our shortage is of the second one,” Audsley said. Most British brands are micro-businesses started by people who entered watchmaking from outside it. They can hire; they cannot teach what they do not know. The Alliance is beta-testing a Careers Hub and preparing a three-to-five-year skills survey for educators.
INDIES.NYC is trying a different lever: “1% for the Next Generation,” directing 1% of profit from every watch sold on the platform to a school chosen by the maker. Founder Jon Cruys framed it as investment, not charity.
Hobbyist builders sit on a parallel track. A first NH-based project does not replace a WOSTEP diploma, but the same order of operations—case, movement, hands, pressure test—is how many people first learn bench discipline. That path is documented in the first Seiko mod build order of operations and the starter toolkit guide.
FAQ
Why 4,000 watchmakers?
According to WatchPro, Switzerland was forecast to need about 4,000 new watchmakers by 2026 to replace retiring staff and match service demand after a decade of mechanical growth.
Is Rolex’s Dallas programme free?
Yes. It is 18 months, tuition-free, supplies tools and materials, and pays a monthly stipend. No prior experience is required.
Why can’t the UK just fund more apprenticeships?
Audsley argues the shortage is of master watchmakers who can instruct. Funding seats does not create teachers inside micro-brands.
The industry is trying to solve two problems at once: more entrants, and enough experienced bench workers to train them. According to WatchPro, those loops will take years, not a single school opening, to close.