Developing a practice-oriented educational program in the field of additive manufacturing requires a clear understanding of both the skills demanded by the industry and the expertise available within the AM ecosystem. An analysis of these two perspectives provides the foundation for designing a relevant educational program aligned with current market demands. The research focuses primarily on the watchmaking and industrial machinery industries in Switzerland, while also incorporating perspectives from other relevant areas of additive manufacturing.

The research combined a review of the specialized literature with a quantitative study based on two questionnaires distributed to industry representatives and experts in additive manufacturing. The collected data were analysed to identify priority skills, existing gaps, and training needs, as well as preferred learning formats and communication channels, and were subsequently compared to assess the degree of alignment between industry needs and the available expertise within the Swiss additive manufacturing ecosystem.

The results highlight that organizations place the greatest importance on technical skills, particularly the fundamentals of additive manufacturing, design for additive manufacturing (DfAM), materials, manufacturing processes, post-processing, and quality control. At the same time, the experts confirm that these fields fall within their expertise, indicating strong alignment between industry requirements and the available competencies for developing educational programs. The research also shows that the value of such an educational program depends not only on technical content but also on integrating the practical experience accumulated by experts in real industrial environments.Based on these results, recommendations were formulated for the development of a modular and flexible curriculum, supported by collaboration between industry and experts. The project provides a solid foundation for developing relevant educational programs that can help reduce the skills gap and support the adoption of additive manufacturing across industry.