Research report: Transmission of craftsmanship – opportunities and obstacles
New report prepared by Katarzyna Chudyńska-Szuchnik from the Praga Museum of Warsaw.
The Praga Museum perceives craftsmen as representatives of cultural heritage with an important social and cultural role. The type of the heritage is in a continuous process and it is natural for it to be transformed. The museum conducted a pilot study in November 2020, which included craftsmen with several decades of work experience, who are characterized by attachment to traditional production methods, the use of durable, natural materials, reliability and professionalism. This craft ethos, along with a multi-generational history, makes us perceive them as “historic enterprenerships”.
The most interesting results from the report:
- More than half of the respondents (54%) stated that they were visited by people looking for an internship or work opportunity in their workshop.
- The craft’s branches to which such questions are addressed are: custom tailoring, shoemaking, glove making, cap making, leather-making, carpentry, furniture renovation, bookbinding.
- The law income, a shrinking client list and a lack of suitable conditions are among the most frequently noted obstacles to hire an apprentice. One also noticed the distance of artisans towards people with no experience in craftsmanship
- Every second respondent expressed interest when the external support of an apprentice hiring is offered. The support should be of a financial nature and should be as little bureaucratic as possible.
- The lack of successors threatens to liquidate my workshop in the coming years – said 45% of the respondents.
- The craftsmen who do not have successors would be interested in the possibility of reselling their workshop to a continuator with the option of being of assistance in the agreed scope. This solution is attractive to 54% of respondents.
Authors of the research: Katarzyna Chudyńska – Szuchnik from the Praga Museum and Maciej Malinowski.
More info (only in Polish): https://muzeumwarszawy.pl/raport-z-badania-transmisja-rzemiosla-mozliwosci-i-przeszkody/