Ecole professionnelle du Chablais

What Ecole professionnelle du Chablais does

Ecole professionnelle du Chablais (EPCA) is a public vocational education institution located in Aigle, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, operating under the administrative authority of the Canton of Vaud's Département de l'enseignement et de la formation professionnelle (DEF). Founded in 1974, the school delivers federally recognized vocational qualifications — CFC (Certificat fédéral de capacité), AFP (Attestation fédérale de formation professionnelle) and Maturité professionnelle — in commerce and retail fields. Per its own published figures, EPCA serves approximately 860 pupils across 52 classes and 7 training tracks, supported by 48 teaching staff. The school offers dual-track apprenticeships, full-time school-based programs, a mixed-format commercial training pathway, a pre-apprenticeship (Préapprentissage) program, a bilingual French-English commercial stream, and an adult certification track (CPA CFC) for experienced professionals.

The institution has no proprietary technology platform; its delivery model is built around traditional classroom instruction, structured workplace apprenticeships, and public cantonal vocational orientation infrastructure (orientation.ch). Revenue is generated exclusively through recurring cantonal government appropriations from DEF rather than tuition fees, making it a subscription-style public funding model. Student recruitment runs through the official Vaud cantonal vocational orientation system, school visits, information sessions, open houses, and partnerships with parallel vocational schools in the Chablais/Chablais region. Mobility partnerships — including Mobimmersiv (semester exchanges with KV Zürich, WKS Bern, WKS Baden, GIBS Olten, and Berufsschule Detailhandel Zürich), Apprentissage+One, and language stays in Munich — extend the educational surface beyond the local canton.

From the 2026 academic year onward, EPCA is absorbing the full-time École de commerce into its network, integrating it with the cantonal commercial vocational schools in Aigle, Lausanne, Nyon and Yverdon. This restructuring is intended to clarify dual-vs-full-time pathways, increase administrative synergies, and reinforce progression toward higher education (Haute école de gestion). The school operates under cantonal oversight with no independent ownership, no private equity involvement, no M&A activity, and no commercial revenue streams.

Name

Ecole professionnelle du Chablais

Legal name

École professionnelle du Chablais

Website

https://epca.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Public vocational school in Aigle, Switzerland, delivering federally recognized commerce and retail training (CFC, AFP, Maturité professionnelle) to ~860 youth and adult students, funded entirely by the Canton of Vaud's DEF.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Educational Services (611), Business and Secretarial Schools (61141)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Accounting & Finance Certification Prep (CPA, CMA, CFA, FRM) (EDANAIAD)

Keywords

• Vocational training
• Commerce education
• Retail training
• Professional maturity
• Federal certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Aigle

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Public cantonal funding: As a public vocational school under the Canton of Vaud's Department of Teaching and Vocational Training (DEF), EPCA is funded by public cantonal government appropriations. Revenue is derived from recurring government budget allocations rather than tuition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ecole professionnelle du Chablais (EPCA) is a public vocational school that delivers state-recognized commercial and retail training programs, including dual-track apprenticeships (CFC/AFP), full-time École de commerce, professional maturity, and adult certification pathways (CPA). It combines classroom instruction with workplace apprenticeships to prepare students for the Swiss labour market or further higher education.

Product overview

Ecole professionnelle du Chablais (EPCA) is a vocational school offering a portfolio of commercial and retail training programs. The institution operates as a unified educational platform providing certified vocational training pathways including: Employé·e de commerce (CFC/AFP) as the primary 3-year commercial training program; École de commerce as a 4-year integrated program combining classroom and internship phases; Gestionnaire/Assistant·e du commerce de détail for retail specialization; Maturité professionnelle as integrated or post-CFC certification for higher education access; Cours de préparation for maturity certification; Préapprentissage as career exploration; plus specialized streams including bilingual French-English training and mixed-format commercial training. Mobility programs including semester exchanges in German-speaking Switzerland and language immersion in Munich complement the core educational offerings. The school also provides adult professional certification (CPA) for continuing education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Employé·e de commerce (CFC/AFP)

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 minor and core.

• KV Zürich (Zurich Vocational School for Commerce)minorOthersEPCA has partnered with KV Zürich as a destination school for its Mobimmersiv mobility programme. Commerce and retail apprentices (3rd or 4th semester) spend a semester in German-speaking Switzerland attending KV Zürich while maintaining their employment contract.
• WKS Bern (WKS Vocational School Bern)minorOthersPartner school for the Mobimmersiv semester-in-German-Switzerland programme. Apprentices attend WKS Bern while retaining their apprenticeship contract with their host company.
• Berufsschule in Detailhandel ZürichminorOthersPartner school for retail apprentices on the Mobimmersiv mobility programme in German-speaking Switzerland.
• GIBS OltenminorOthersPartner school for the Mobimmersiv mobility programme, allowing commerce apprentices to attend GIBS Olten during their 3rd or 4th semester.
• WKS BadenminorOthersPartner school for the Mobimmersiv mobility programme. Apprentices attend WKS Baden during their 3rd or 4th semester in German-speaking Switzerland.
• Canton of Vaud - Department of Teaching and Vocational Training (DEF)coreOthersEPCA operates under the administrative authority of the Canton of Vaud's Department of Teaching and Vocational Training (DEF). DEF provides funding, regulatory oversight, and policy direction for the school.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• KV Zürich (Kaufmännische Berufsschule Zürich): Zurich canton vocational school for commerce delivering the same CFC kaufmännisch profile as EPCA's Employé·e de commerce; a Mobimmersiv mobility destination partner and therefore a directly comparable counterpart in the German-speaking Swiss commercial vocational market.
• École professionnelle commerciale de Nyon (EPCN): Sister Vaud canton commercial vocational school in Nyon delivering equivalent CFC/AFP commerce tracks; named explicitly in EPCA's 2026 integration plan as a peer in the cantonal commercial schools network.
• Berufsschule im Detailhandel Zürich: Specialist Zurich vocational school for retail (Detailhandel) CFC, directly comparable to EPCA's Gestionnaire du commerce de détail programme; named Mobimmersiv partner for EPCA's retail apprentices.
• GIBS Olten (Gewerblich-Industrielle Berufsschule Olten): Solothurn canton vocational school providing commerce and general vocational tracks; a Mobimmersiv destination and a peer in the Swiss federal commercial vocational credential system.
• WKS Baden: Aargau canton commercial vocational school offering CFC commerce under the Swiss federal framework; listed Mobimmersiv partner comparable to EPCA in scope and credential output.
• École professionnelle commerciale de Lausanne: Public Vaud canton vocational school offering the same CFC/AFP/Maturité professionnelle commerce and retail training as EPCA; one of the four schools EPCA is being integrated with from 2026 and therefore a direct operational and competitive peer.
• WKS Bern (Wirtschafts- und Kaderschule Bern): Bern canton vocational school offering commerce and management training under the same Swiss federal credential framework (CFC, BM); another Mobimmersiv partner for EPCA, providing a directly comparable German-Swiss commercial vocational offering.
• École professionnelle d'Yverdon-les-Bains (EPCY): Fourth school in the Vaud commercial vocational network integrated with EPCA from 2026; offers parallel commerce and retail CFC programmes to the same cantonal student catchment.

Regional players

• Centre de formation professionnelle (CFP) Commerce Genève: Geneva canton vocational commerce school delivering the same federal CFC commerce qualifications but operating in a different French-speaking Swiss canton from EPCA, so a regional rather than direct competitive peer.
• École professionnelle commerciale et artisanale (EPCA Fribourg): Fribourg canton vocational school offering commerce and retail programmes under the same Swiss federal framework, in a neighbouring French-speaking canton — a regional peer offering overlapping credentials but outside EPCA's Vaud catchment.

Market position

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/epc-aigle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Ecole professionnelle du Chablais