"Disappearing professions on the European job market" is a project of international partnership organisations connected with vocational training of the youth from Poland, Lithuania and Germany. The project popularizes disappearing professions as well as traditional craft serving as an innovative course of action to improve the situation of the young on the job market. One of the aims of the project is to encourage the youth to start education and training in disappearing professions. Another is to promote traditional craft and regional culture at the international level by instilling the idea of individual enterprise and self-employment in response to the growing interest in goods and services delivered in a traditional way. The complex form of securing the survival of old professions is based on a number of factors. First comes the acquiring or upgrading competences within the field of disappearing professions. Secondly, it is crucial to target craftsmen, entrepreneurs, institutions and people that are not only connected with disappearing professions but also interested in their popularization. What follows is delivering programmes and methods of training within the field of old professions with a view to increasing the number of well-skilled craftsmen. The project involves the participation of partnership organizations workers who are willing to extend and exchange their experience in the field of project aims. Among others the group includes instructors of learning a profession in a practical way who are intrested in training or supervising the training of youth in their countries, students and graduates of vocational schools from partnership organizatios from Poland, Lithuania and Germany, who may have difficulties in functioning on the job market, as well as those willing to broaden their professional qualifications in order to enter the job market or self-employ. It will also include craftsmen, enterpreneurs and organizations intrested in disappearing professions. 45 people under supervision of partnership organizations are going to take part in a professional training. Among others the group includes 25 people having little chances in succeeding in adult life as well as 6 employees of partnerhip organizations willing to train the young how to use practical skills in disappearing professions. After the language and cultural preparation, preparing individual activity plans and completing the enterpreneurship course in their countries, the young will take part in a two-week course in a village of disappearig professions in Roskosz. The course will involne training in a chosen disappearing profession: baker/confectioner, blacksmith, stonesman, weaver, wheelwright, thatcher, potter. After completeing the trainig its participants will gain additional skills in disappearing profession as well as experience and motivation to work, which will make them more attractive as potential employees. The project realization will allow the experience exchange together with passing down the solutions concerning vocational training and activity in favour of graduates to ease entering the job market, transfer of interesting and valuable solutions between the organizations, upgrading the quality and efficiency of professional training in the field of disappearing professions as well as increasing the access and promotion of those trainings in EU countries. As part of the project partnership organizations will compare the situation of craftsmen who are active in endangered professions and professions which are disappearing but stand a chance of surviving in Poland, Lithuania and Germany, demand and supply for products and services delivered by these professions, solutions and methods in EU countries associated with recognition of skills and qualifications, recognition and accreditation of professional training outcomes. The result will also be the digest of trainings in the field of disappearing professions along with the examples of good practice , training materials, on-line database of craftsmen and people skilled in disappearing professions in EU countries. The database will unable the on-line contact not only between craftsmen and people interested in traditional craft, but also potential clients, enterpreneurs, associations and people who are willing to train and promote the disappearing professions in EU countries. Carrying out the project within the international cooperation will allow sharing and comparing ideas, solutions and methods among EU countries related to education in the field of disappearing professions and extending the training in base professions concerning the forgotten craft. The project realization will also allow the experience exchange together with passing down the solutions at the international level. These solutions will concern finding the first job as well as promoting the spirit of enterprise among the young who are active participants in vocational education.
The project "Disappearing professions on the European job market" resulted from the international partnership of organisations from Poland, Lithuania, and Germany, which are connected with vocational training of the youth. It has popularised disappearing professions and traditional crafts combined with innovative actions in order to improve the situation of young people on the job market. The project aimed to promote education and training in disappearing professions, and to popularise traditional crafts and regional culture at the international level by implanting the idea of entrepreneurship and self-employment, due to the increasing interest in products and services provided in a traditional manner. Acquiring or improving competences in terms of disappearing professions as well as reaching the craftsmen, entrepreneurs, institutions, people related to disappearing professions and interested in their promotion, development of training materials, and promoting trainings in order to broaden the circle of highly qualified craftsmen – all those activities constituted a very rich form of preventing the traditional occupations from sinking into oblivion. The project involved the participation of partnership organisations employees willing to extend and exchange their experience in terms of the project’s subject and aims, including instructors of vocational training interested in supervising training in disappearing professions in their countries. Furthermore, the trainees were the charges of the partnership organisations, learning or finishing their education in vocational schools, who may have difficulties in finding themselves on the labour market as well as those willing to increase their professional qualifications in order to enter the labour market or self-employment career more easily. Moreover, craftsmen, entrepreneurs, and vocational training institutions co-working with the partnership organisations who were interested in disappearing professions also took part in the project. Within the confines of the project, the partnership organisations managed to compare: the situation of craftsmen working in imperilled professions, disappearing professions in Poland, Lithuania, and Germany, the demand for and supply of products and services provided within those professions, and the possibilities of recognition and certification of training effects in the EU countries. Moreover, the project website was created; it contains the most important information concerning the project, its results, and an on-line data base of craftsmen and people skilled in disappearing professions in the EU countries. The data base enables various entities from the EU countries such as craftsmen, people interested in traditional crafts, potential customers, entrepreneurs, representatives of associations, and people willing to undergo training in disappearing professions to get in touch and cooperate. One of the most important project activities was the mobility of individuals during the vocational training, in which 45 charges of partnership organisations and 6 instructors of vocational training/employees of partnership organisations, took part. They underwent a two-week training in chosen disappearing professions, which was preceded by a language and cultural preparation, meetings with career counsellors, and entrepreneurship courses. The training took place on the premises of the Village of Disappearing Professions in the European Centre of Education and Upbringing OHP in Roskosz, and included following professions: weaver, smith, wheeler, baker/confectioner of traditional products. The project realisation allowed the exchange of experience and good practises concerning vocational training and activities which would make it easier for school graduates to enter the labour market, the transfer of interesting and valuable solutions between the organisations, upgrading the quality and efficiency of professional training in the field of disappearing professions as well as increasing the access to and promotion of those trainings in the EU countries. The achieved results including materials, training programmes, instructional videos, and the knowledge compendium on organisation of trainings in chosen disappearing professions are a considerable support for entities interested in organisation of trainings in disappearing professions. Carrying out the project within the international cooperation together with the produced materials allowed the EU countries interested in education in the field of disappearing professions and in adding the forgotten crafts to the vocational training curricula to share and compare ideas, solutions, and methods. Moreover, the project realisation also enabled the exchange of experience and solutions concerning finding the first job as well as promotion of enterprise amongst the young participants of vocational education at the international level. Additionally, it will contribute to the networking of craftsmen.