Eracom

What Eracom does

ERACOM (École romande d'arts et communication) is a public vocational school located in Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, operated by the Direction générale de l'enseignement postobligatoire (DGEP) of the Vaud cantonal government. It delivers vocational and advanced professional education in applied arts, graphic design, interactive media, clothing creation, printing industry trades, and audiovisual/film production. The school offers 12 programs spanning CFC (Federal Certificate of Competence) qualifications, a vocational baccalaureate pathway, a pre-apprenticeship orientation year, and an advanced ES (École supérieure) diploma specializing in film and audiovisual media. Programs are available in both dual-track (company apprenticeship combined with school days) and full-time school formats. The primary student cohort is Vaud-resident youth aged roughly 15-20, supplemented by inter-canton and foreign residents and career-changer adults.

The school's technical and operational stack relies entirely on industry-standard creative and development tools rather than proprietary technology. Curriculum delivery uses Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, Blender, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, VS Code, GitHub, and WordPress. Internal operations are supported by a SharePoint-based student portal (Eduvaud), a WordPress-based extranet, and the Hector equipment loan management system for borrowing cameras and audio gear. Notable student-built artifacts include the Fontes Eracom typographic web catalog (a searchable library of 30+ typefaces) and the annual school website redesign project, which is itself a cross-class pedagogical exercise across ID331, ID341, and ID441 cohorts.

ERACOM's revenue model is non-commercial and dominated by cantonal block funding from the Canton of Vaud. Tuition is free for Vaud-resident students in CFC programs, with only a CHF 100 admission tax; higher education (ES) programs charge CHF 720 annual tuition for Vaud residents and approximately CHF 18,000 per year for foreign residents. A CHF 150 admission tax applies to ES programs. Students additionally purchase their own equipment and supplies. The student funnel is driven by annual open days (Journées portes ouvertes), the school's website, social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok), and official Swiss orientation portals (orientation.ch, dpsuisse.ch). Admission for selective programs such as Interactive Media Designer involves an admission competition with creative work submission and jury interviews. Strategic partnerships anchor the curriculum, most prominently with RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse) for the ES film program and Movetia for cross-lingual mobility subsidies.

Name

Eracom

Legal name

ERACOM - École romande d'arts et communication

Website

https://eracom.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ERACOM is a public vocational school in Lausanne, Switzerland, operated by the Canton of Vaud, providing CFC and ES-level training in graphic design, interactive media, clothing creation, and audiovisual production to secondary and tertiary students in the region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Art and Communication Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Apprenticeship Training (611513)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional Training & Workforce Upskilling (AM) (IMAAAJAC)

Keywords

• Vocational education
• Graphic design training
• Interactive media design
• Applied arts education
• Communication design

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Public Vocational Education Funding: Eracom is a public school funded by the Canton of Vaud. Training is free for residents of Vaud and those with inter-cantonal authorization. Foreign residents pay approximately CHF 18,000 per year. Revenue comes from public funding rather than tuition.
2. Admission Fees: One-time admission tax collected upon acceptance: CHF 100 for vocational school programs, CHF 150 for higher education programs. Fees are non-refundable even in case of withdrawal.
3. School Fees - Higher Education: Annual tuition of CHF 720 for Designer ES program (plus school supplies) for Vaud residents. Foreign students pay approximately CHF 18,000 annual tuition.
4. School Supplies and Materials: Students purchase their own equipment and materials including computers, hard drives, SD cards, headphones, and course-specific supplies as listed in annual equipment requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Eracom is a public vocational school that delivers federally recognized vocational training (CFC) and advanced diplomas (ES) in graphic design, interactive media design, clothing creation, printing trades, and audiovisual/film production. Programs are offered in dual-track (school plus company apprenticeship) and full-time school formats, taught by active professionals and built around project-based learning for youth, career changers, and ES-level students.

Product overview

Eracom (école romande d'arts et communication) is a public vocational school in Lausanne, Switzerland offering professional and advanced education in visual arts, graphic design, communication, and digital media. It is not a software product company — its 'offerings' are educational programs. The school operates several internal digital platforms for student and administrative use: SharePoint-based student portal (Eduvaud), a WordPress-based extranet, the Hector equipment loan management system, and a student-built font cataloguing tool (Fontes Eracom). All teaching programs are vocational (CFC-level) or advanced (ES-level), covering graphisme, interactive media design, clothing creation, advertising production, and various media industry trades. No commercial software product is sold or offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Interactive Media Designer CFC Four-year federally recognized vocational diploma (CFC) training students aged roughly 15-20 in digital communication, web and app design, UX/UI, motion design, 3D, audiovisual production, and interactive media, offered as dual-track (enterprise-based apprenticeship plus school) or full-time school-based format.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students win IMD Awards (Interactive Media Design Awards) annually in categories including Animation, Type on screen, and Video
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose collaboration with RTS for the Designer ES film program, providing students with industry connections, potential internship placements, and real-world project experience in television and audiovisual production.
• MovetiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational agency for exchange and mobility. ERACOM can help students obtain subsidies for international internships, exchanges, or training in German-speaking or Italian-speaking Switzerland.
• EPSIC (École professionnelle industrielle et commerciale)minorOthersShared campus and support services including student health services, psychology services, and administrative offices located at EPSIC facilities.
• Eduvaud SharePointcoreTechnology or IntegrationStudent portal hosted on Eduvaud SharePoint providing access to class schedules, promotional photos, and academic documents. Requires eduvaud login credentials.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• F+F Schule für Kunst und Design: F+F is a private vocational school in Zurich for art and design. Although private (vs. Eracom's public status), it serves the same Swiss vocational creative training market with overlapping disciplines including graphic design, film, and digital media, competing for similar students.
• HEAD Genève (Haute école d'art et de design): HEAD is a major publicly funded art and design institution in Geneva offering programs in visual arts, graphic design, and media. As a Western Swiss applied arts school with overlapping curriculum focus, it competes for the same creative student pool across the Romandie region.
• ECAL (École cantonale d'art de Lausanne): ECAL is a cantonal art and design school located in Lausanne, geographically adjacent to Eracom. It offers design education across graphic design, media, and product design at the higher education (HES) level, making it a direct category and geographic peer that competes for the same Lausanne-region creative students despite the program-level difference.
• SAWI (Swiss Advertising and Marketing School): SAWI is a Swiss vocational school specializing in advertising, marketing, and communication. It targets similar students seeking creative and commercial training, making it a direct peer within the Swiss vocational creative education market.
• CSIA Lugano (Centro scolastico industrie artistiche): CSIA is a cantonal vocational school in Italian-speaking Switzerland offering programs in applied arts, graphic design, and printing trades. It is structurally near-identical to Eracom in scope, level, and Swiss public-vocational positioning, making it the closest Swiss-system peer.
• Schule für Gestaltung Bern und Biel: A Swiss public vocational school for design and visual communication in Bern/Biel. It offers graphic design, interactive media, and photography programs at the CFC level, making it a structurally comparable peer to Eracom in the German-speaking Swiss vocational education landscape.

Regional players

• SUPSI (Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana): SUPSI is the university of applied sciences and arts of Italian-speaking Switzerland with design and arts programs. It serves a similar institutional function in Ticino but operates in a different language region, making it a regional rather than direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• HES-SO (Haute école spécialisée de la Suisse occidentale): HES-SO is the umbrella organization for universities of applied sciences in Western Switzerland, overseeing higher education institutions like HEAD and ECAL. It represents the broader ecosystem within which Eracom's higher education programs compete.
• ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste): ZHdK is the largest arts university in Switzerland, offering a broad portfolio of design, art, film, and music programs. As a publicly funded Swiss arts institution covering overlapping disciplines, it is a broader incumbent competing for the same student talent at a higher tier.
• BFH (Berner Fachhochschule): BFH is the Bern University of Applied Sciences, offering programs in design, engineering, and business. As a publicly funded Swiss applied sciences institution covering some overlapping disciplines (e.g., design), it represents a broader competitor in the Swiss applied education landscape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/eracom.officielle
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/eracom
• Instagraminstagram.com/eracom_ch
• TikToktiktok.com/@eracom_ch

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Eracom