Trial apprenticeship

The best machines for spray cans worldwide

Are you interested in the profession of an automation engineer? Go ahead, sign up for a trial apprenticeship and you’ll get a first-hand experience of the fascinating world of engineering - starting with mechanical processing and assembly, through wiring of electrical components all the way to pneumatic controls and software engineering.

The upper picture shows a Pamasol employee testing a Macromat LB20. This is a filling and sealing machine for spray cans. While the polymechanics and metal workers are working on the mechanic and metalwork, the automation engineer mounts all the electrical components such as sensors, motors and the big touchscreen. Afterwards, the PLC (that’s the computer and thus the brain of the machine) gets programmed to bring life to the machine.

As soon as the machine is running and the customer finished his checklist, it will be shipped to the production site, for example Australia, the US or Brasil, but also Germany or Switzerland. Pamasol machines are located all around the world, producing billions of spray cans.

Fully trained automation engineers have the opportunity to visit different countries and cultures, because the machines scattered around the world are installed and serviced by Pamasol employees on site.

You probably haven’t noticed it, but you definitely had a spray can in your hand that was filled on a Pamasol machine (deodorant, color spray, oven cleaner, shaving cream, room spray, silicone spray, oil spray, …the list goes on and on).

A few answers to frequently asked questions:

Is an automation engineer a demanded profession?

Yes, automation engineers are professions in high demand and will continue to be in the future.

More and more tasks and operations are done by machines and robots. Automation engineers are needed to build the machines and program the software for it.

How long does an apprenticeship take and where do I need to go to school?

The apprenticeship lasts 4 years. During this time the apprentices will visit one to two days a week the vocational school in Arth-Goldau. If you attend the Federal Professional Baccalaureate during the apprenticeship, the school visit consists of two days a week for the entire apprenticeship.

Additionally to the vocational school you will attend inter-company professional training in the training centre Swissmechanic in Pfäffikon SZ. These trainings take a few weeks each.

What kind of advanced training opportunities are there?

There are alot of advanced training opportunities, such as the Federal Diploma of Higher Education for the automation specialist or the Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education for the Master in Switchgear and Automation.

The most wanted advanced trainings from Pamasol automation engineers so far are the Technician (CHF - College of Higher Education) or the study for the title Engineer (University of Applied Sciences).

If you completed the Federal Professional Baccalaureate, you can for example attend the ost.ch in Rapperswil to study for the Engineer.

How much do you earn as a fully trained automation engineer?

There are no hard and fast rules about how much you earn. Alot of factors play into that, such as work experience, function and position in the workplace or location and branch of the company.

What’s definitively in every job: If you love it and put the effort into it, it will mirror into your paycheck.

I know, the answers above do not help alot and we can’t keep interested people guessing. Following are a few numbers from the online portal jobs.ch which can give you an estimated point of reference.

Automation engineer

• Jobs.ch for automation engineers, called on 11.01.2023.
• CHF 65'200 annual salary, which, for 12 months, would be CHF 5433.33 each month.

Electrical engineer

• Jobs.ch for electrical engineers, called on 11.01.2023
• CHF 96'995 annual salary, which, for 12 months, would be CHF 8082.92 each month.

Video automation engineer VET

How many automation engineers did Pamasol already train?