Source: European Parliament
The traditional crafts and heritage occupations typically require vocational education and training (VET). The Commission has recently launched the Union of Skills[1], a comprehensive strategy that addresses skills across all levels of education, and across all sectors of the economy, so that artisans can be supported to sustain and preserve their skills.
Organisations from the craft and heritage sector can join the European Alliance for Apprenticeship (EAfA)[2] to network and exchange with other organisations, i.e. about how to reduce administrative burden.
Under the Pact for Skills, the large-scale skills partnership for Cultural and Creative industries[3] identified supporting VET initiatives that can serve the preservation and the further development of technical skills, arts and crafts as the priority.
Thanks to Regulation (EU) 2023/2411[4], as from December 2025, producers of craft and industrial products will be able to obtain an EU-wide registration of their geographical indication. This new protection tool is known for helping to pass on know-how, particularly to younger generations.
Horizon Europe currently funds four projects on ‘traditional crafts for the future: a new approach’[5]. The Erasmus+ programme contributes to the learning and exchange of know-how in the crafts, as part of VET learning mobility of apprentices and cooperation projects[6].
The Creative Europe programme contributes to the preservation of cultural heritage, including the transmission and promotion of heritage professionals’ skills and craft through several actions among which are Europa Nostra[7] and Culture Moves Europe[8].
Artisans specialising in heritage restoration may apply for individual mobility grants and participate in residencies.
- [1] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/union-skills_en.
- [2] https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies-and-activities/skills-and-qualifications/working-together/european-alliance-apprenticeships_en.
- [3] https://pact-for-skills.ec.europa.eu/about/industrial-ecosystems-and-partnerships/creative-and-cultural-industries_en.
- [4] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2411/oj/eng.
- [5] Namely Tracks4crafts, Colour4crafts, Hephaestus, and Craeft; https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/HORIZON_HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-04.
Other crafts-focused projects include Culturality (https://culturalityproject.eu/), aimed at promoting rural and remote areas through cultural tourism activities leveraging traditional crafts, CRAFT-IT4SD (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101132596), focused on craft revitalization for futureproofing the transition to innovative technologies for sustainable development, and Make-a-Thek (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101177660/fr), Modular library makerspaces for heritage crafts innovation and digitization. - [6] For more information on Erasmus+ opportunities, please refer to: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/4f38e3b2-39b7-11ed-9c68-01aa75ed71a1/language-en.
- [7] A pan-European network dedicated to the promotion of heritage professional voices.
- [8] A mobility scheme for artists and cultural professionals in all 40 creative Europe countries and covering sectors such as architecture and cultural heritage.