Hi Anh

Thanks for getting in touch. You’re really going to have to try and speak with someone at the BHI – perhaps try and call them if you don’t get a reply to your email.

You can follow the course and complete all the coursework without taking any of the exams, but to allow the BHI to correctly assess your work, you will have to be at one of their exam centres. I don’t know if there are any outside of the UK, but they will be able to advise you on this.

All the best with your studies!

Colin

Hi Jake, many thanks – I’m glad you found it useful.

Some brands offer accreditation courses, which is usually a prerequisite for them offering the position of “official service centre” to a repairer and access to parts. This is usually a course, followed by an examination on a particular calibre of watch.

You could work as a sole trader, but you would struggle. Both courses will set you up brilliantly to be a great watchmaker, but they will not teach you such things such as dealing with customers, ordering parts, providing guarantees, or perhaps most importantly, working to a commercial speed. An established watchmaker will also work on a wider variety and probably a higher quality of watch than someone just starting out by themselves. Also, you can possibly pick up some brand accreditations working for an employer too.

– Could you go into some detail about independent watchmakers who list accreditation or links to major watch brands, sometimes listing multiple. Do they have to complete additional training or receive quality assurance inspections etc.

– After successful completion of either the BHI level 5 or the WOSTEP course, is the only realistic option to work for an established watchmaker? Or could someone be a successful sole trader?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Ben

It does vary a little from country to country, with Switzerland generally have the best salaries. In the UK, London also has about a 30% premium. Watchmaking in very low paid as a profession, when skill, experience and also profitability are taken into account. These are some general figures in GBP for a watchmaker – who works on mechanical watches:

2 years exp. : £20-25,000
5 years exp. : £25-35,000
10 years exp. : £28-60,000

From my experience, £60,000 is where a watchmaker’s salary is capped at currently, and is probably the top 1% that earn this much. To earn more you could either become self employed, or move into management.

There will always be caveats, as qualifications make a huge difference – particularly in how fast your salary will rise. Having a brand accreditation also commands a higher salary. It does work both ways though, and I’ve met watchmakers who have every qualification, can work on almost every brand, have 10+ year’s experience and are earning less than £25,000. This is because they’ve worked at the same company for all that time and don’t want to relocate.

Colin

Hi Mihaly,

Thank you for your comment.

A WOSTEP, or other recognised course, certificate definitely helps you get a job. Most watchmakers do not have formal training, and so being able to demonstrate that you have proven skills to a set standard is always going to be useful.

31 isn’t old, I was 32 when I retrained as a watchmaker. You can probably work for another 40 years in the profession and so it is definitely an investment worth making if you are interested enough. Younger students tend to be higher flight risks for employers, and a lot of the confidence and patience required to be proficient in the role develop with age too. From my experience, being a foreign student has no bearing at all on the acceptance into a course.

Most schools that I know of have sponsors, and it’s these sponsors that send students there. So, I would contact the school directly and ask them who sponsors them and who would be interested in taking a student on.

For a company to pay for your studies, then likely they will handcuff you for a couple of years after you have graduated. This is usually on a lower wage. Other than that, they would of course want you to represent their company well and be a good student.

I hope that helps.

Colin

First of all, thank you for this page of yours. It’s very helpful and informative.
I have a few questions, maybe you can help me, and thank you in advance for your answers:

– I am looking for WOSTEP certified courses as I think that the prestige could help me in the future finding good job opportunities. Is this really a phenomenon, or it does not really matter?

– I am 31 now, and I have a feeling in my guts that watchmaking schools would rather take a young student from their own country into the apprenticeship system than a 31 years old foreigner. What is your experience regarding older/foreign students?

– Currently i am looking at the WOSTEP certified schools in Germany, and I’m going to start by making phone calls and submitting my application to these schools. But I would also like to prepare for the outcome in which I will be taken into none of them. My initial thought is that I would search for a sponsor company which could support my studies in Neuchatel. What would you do in such case? Is searching for a sponsor a viable option? How would you reach out to them?
I guess that my part of the deal would be that I will work there after my graduation (for a lower salary probably?). What does the company expect from me in a sponsorship deal?

Hi Jay,

There are other courses around the country, but the course in Birmingham is the only one that is a full-time course beyond the WOSTEP school in Manchester.

You may want to have a look at Epping Forest for short courses and there is always the BHI’s distance learning course that you can do anywhere.

Try also looking for local watchmakers that may want to take on an enthusiastic apprentice. There’s certainly one prominent watchmaking workshop in Norwich that comes to mind.

I hope that helps.

Colin

I live in Norfolk. Is there still only 1 course in Birmingham UK? Or do you know of other locations for either qualification.

Thanks
Jay