Employers Union of Vaud Engineers and Architects

What Employers Union of Vaud Engineers and Architects does

UPIAV (Union Patronale des Ingénieurs et Architectes Vaudois, marketed in English as the Employers Union of Vaud Engineers and Architects) is a non-profit professional employers' association founded in 1971 and headquartered at Rue Beau-Séjour 16, Lausanne, Switzerland. It represents and defends the interests of architects, engineers, urbanists, and built environment specialists exercising independently or through firms (SA, Sàrl) in the canton of Vaud. Its core offering is not a product or technology platform but a membership-based service bundle: a lawyer-managed secretariat providing legal advice (permanence juridique), representation vis-à-vis public authorities, access to a regulated social-insurance ecosystem (CAFIAV family allowances fund, FIPIAV pension fund), and event programming (Jeudis de l'UPIAV, site visits, continuing-education modules).

The association's central economic and regulatory asset is the Convention Collective de Travail (CCT) for Vaud architects' and engineers' offices. Signed in 2018 with UNIA, SIA Vaud, FAS, GPA, OSA, and Centre Patronal, the CCT was granted legally extended force (force étendue) effective 1 January 2019, making it binding across the entire canton. UPIAV also operates the Observatoire vaudois des marchés publics (OVMP, created 2012) and the Observatoire des marchés publics romand (OMPr, created 2018), which monitor public procurement practices in Vaud and across French-speaking Switzerland.

The business model is straightforward recurring subscription revenue from members. Annual membership dues are structured by legal form: individual sole proprietors without staff pay a flat 400 CHF per year, sole proprietors with staff pay 400 CHF plus 0.45% of payroll mass, and legal entities (SA, Sàrl) pay 0.45% of payroll mass with a floor of 400 CHF and a ceiling of 7,000 CHF per year, with optional affiliations to CAFIAV and FIPIAV generating further flows. Members are recruited via an online registration form, and the association distributes value through an entirely direct, single-country (canton of Vaud) channel — there is no technology product, platform, or app offering. Activities beyond advocacy and services include the annual Prix UPIAV awarded at HEIG-VD and EPFL and five annual apprenticeship scholarships for the construction planning trades.

Name

Employers Union of Vaud Engineers and Architects

Legal name

Union patronale des ingénieur·e·s et architectes vaudois·es

Website

https://upiav.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

UPIAV is a non-profit employers' association founded in 1971 in Lausanne, Switzerland, representing 100+ architecture, engineering, and urban planning firms in the canton of Vaud. It provides legal advice, networking, and sector advocacy, and operates the legally extended collective labour agreement (CCT) binding the canton since 2019.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: UPIAV generates revenue through annual membership fees. Individual sole proprietors without staff pay a flat rate of 400 CHF per year. Individual sole proprietors with staff pay the 400 CHF flat plus a 0.45% proportional fee on the payroll mass. Legal entities (SA, Sàrl) pay the 0.45% proportional fee on payroll mass, with a minimum of 400 CHF and a maximum of 7,000 CHF per year. Additional optional insurance affiliations (CAFIAV family allowances fund, FIPIAV pension fund) may also generate revenue flows.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

UPIAV is a nonprofit professional employers' association that represents and defends the interests of architects, engineers, urbanists, and built-environment specialists operating in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Its core offerings include member-only legal advice, administration and enforcement of the sector's collective labour agreement (CCT) with extended legal force, professional networking events, member directory visibility, public-procurement monitoring (OVMP and OMPr), and apprenticeship scholarships.

Product overview

UPIAV is a professional employers' association (Union Patronale des Ingénieurs et Architectes Vaudois) founded in 1971, serving architects, engineers, urbanists, and construction specialists in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. The organization provides legal expertise, advice, and support services to construction industry professionals, including member benefits such as networking events, collective labor agreement (CCT) management, professional development, and a member directory. UPIAV does not offer technology products; it is a membership-based professional association.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UPIAV Membership Subscription Annual membership subscription granting architects, engineers, urbanists, and built-environment professionals access to all association services. Tiered pricing by legal form and payroll mass.
• Legal Advice Service (Permanence juridique) Member-only legal counsel managed by a professional lawyer (avocat), provided on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9h-11h30 by appointment at the Lausanne secretariat.

Quantifiable outcome

• The legally extended CCT (since 2019) eliminates below-cost tenders in public procurement for construction planning services in Vaud.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SIA VaudcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020UPIAV co-organised continuing education modules on public procurement with SIA Vaud and the OMPr, held in March 2020 in Lausanne.
• Signatory partners of Vaud Ethical Charter for Public ProcurementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018UPIAV is a signatory of the Charte éthique vaudoise des marchés publics (Vaud ethical charter for public procurement), alongside other professional associations and public bodies. The charter aims to ensure respect for social aspects in public procurement procedures.
• UNIAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018UNIA is the principal trade union partner in the sector. Together with UPIAV and employer associations (SIA, FAS, GPA, OSA), UNIA co-signed the 2018 collective labour agreement (CCT) that gained legally extended force in 2019.
• SIA VaudcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018The Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA) Vaud section co-signed the 2018 CCT as a partner association, alongside UPIAV, UNIA, FAS, GPA, and OSA.
• Centre PatronalcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2018The Centre Patronal is the primary administrative and financial partner for managing and monitoring the CCT with extended legal force. It handles the operational implementation, bookkeeping, and compliance monitoring of the collective agreement on behalf of UPIAV and the other signatory associations.
• Observatoire des marchés publics romand (OMPr)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Created by UPIAV in 2018, the OMPr monitors public procurement practices across French-speaking Switzerland (Romandy) to improve fairness, transparency, and quality in tendering for planning services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SIA Vaud (Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects, Vaud section): The Vaud cantonal section of the Swiss national professional society for engineers and architects. Co-signatory of the 2018 CCT and partner in continuing-education programmes; directly comparable as a professional association serving the same architect/engineer population in Vaud.
• UNIA: Switzerland's largest trade union and principal social-partner counterparty to UPIAV in the 2018 CCT. Comparably structured as a membership-based organisation engaged in collective-bargaining, labour-law representation, and apprenticeship programmes for the construction sector.
• FAS – Fédération des Architectes Suisses: National employers' federation representing Swiss architecture offices. Co-signed the 2018 CCT alongside UPIAV and operates at the national level on the same labour-law and sector-representation mandate as UPIAV does in Vaud.
• BSA – Bund Schweizer Architekten: Swiss federation of independent architects. Operates the same employer-representation function as UPIAV but at the national level and with an architecture-only focus, making it a close functional peer in defending architects' professional and economic interests.
• usic – Union Suisse des Ingénieurs-Conseils: Swiss employers' association of consulting engineering firms. Closely comparable to UPIAV as a sectoral employers' body negotiating collective labour conditions, representing engineering practices, and engaging in public-procurement advocacy.
• OSA – Organisation suisse des architectes indépendants: Organisation representing independent architects in Switzerland; co-signatory of the 2018 CCT. Functionally analogous to UPIAV as a trade body focused on the economic and regulatory conditions of small and independent architecture practices.
• GPA – Groupement professionnel des architectes: Co-signatory of the 2018 Vaud CCT and a Swiss-wide association of architecture firms. Directly comparable as a professional employers' body serving the same architect segment UPIAV represents in Vaud.
• Centre Patronal: Vaud employers' umbrella organisation serving as the operational administrator for the CCT with extended legal force. Comparable as the administrative and financial backbone of employer-side labour relations in Vaud, complementing UPIAV's representational role.

Regional players

• Fédération Romande des Maîtres Maçons (FRMM): Romandy employers' federation for the masonry/trade-contractor segment of construction. Comparable as a regional employers' body with collective labour agreements and public-procurement advocacy, though operating in the execution rather than planning segment of the construction value chain.
• Chambre vaudoise du commerce et de l'industrie (CVCI): The broader Vaud chamber of commerce and industry. Comparable as a Vaud-based membership association representing employers across sectors, including on labour-law and public-procurement matters, but operating horizontally rather than in the construction-planning niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upiav

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Employers Union of Vaud Engineers and Architects