As part of ETF’s assessment of skills for the future the ETF has identified the crafts and design sector as an important dimension of work in the ETF’s partner countries. The mastery of crafts and growing design and creativity opportunities are an important part of the labour market and reflect the rich cultural heritage of the countries. They also support the attraction of tourism as well as present interesting perspectives in the engagement with international markets related to craft and creativity and how traditional skills are being influenced by the growth of new technology.
The assessment is being undertaken in cooperation with the Michelangelo Foundation.This foundation promotes craftmanship and creativity through a network of organizations focusing on excellence in the sector and the development of new competences for artisans, as well as promoting skills development for youth and international cooperation.
By working on the sector, the ETF aims to gather insights into the main drivers of change and innovation in the crafts and design sector of selected ETF partner countries and determines how skills demand in crafts is subsequently affected.
The assessment is divided in two phases. The first phase which aims to develop portraits of the sector in a number of countries and to review the major actors and institutions working in eight partner countries of the ETF. These are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Ukraine, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
In the second phase the ETF aims to go further by establishing a network for stakeholders across all eight countries and by undertaking in depths studies in four of the participating countries.
Review of progress and next steps
On 28 July 2021 the ETF team met the project’s stakeholders and participants to share the findings of the work undertaken to date and to look ahead at what the review will consider in the coming months.
The first session looked at findings of Phase 1 (November 2020 – June 2021) during which sectoral Portraits were produced. The purpose of sectoral portraits was to better understand the characteristics of the crafts and design sector within each country, as well as gain perspective on future developments in this sector. Each Portrait describes the main characteristics of the crafts sector, the main trends that affect the sector, and any present or future changes in the skills needs of people employed in the sector.
Among key drivers and trends identified in those eight countries, the portraits found:
- The COVID-19 pandemic
- drop in tourism and sales to tourists
- looking for alternative (potentially online) platforms to showcase and sell the goods produced
- Tourism
- increasing tourism (before the pandemic) accelerated the demand for crafts
- Globalisation:
- allows for the world to connect and buy handmade goods from any country in the world
- may be affecting the local identity and lead to the weakening of traditional bonds
- may increase competition domestically by offering more cost-effective alternatives
- Growing internationalisation of the sector
- increasing opportunities to participate in fairs and exhibitions abroad
- Lack of skills, caused by:
- internal migration from rural to urban areas
- professions in crafts lacking attractiveness for young people
- Technological innovation
- technology and automation can change the production process
- technology can enable craftsmen to reach a wider audience (via social media, websites etc.)
- Growing interest in / awareness of crafts and the importance of the cultural context
- the strength of craft culture is shown in the presence of a social infrastructure
- Growing environmental concerns
- the customers are increasingly concerned about environmental issues
In terms of demand for new skills, the following was identified:
- Technology-related skills
- ability to work with different media tools, incorporation of cutting-edge digital technology etc.
- Computer literacy skills
- especially important for elder generation of craftspeople in some countries
- Soft skills
- communication, adaptability, creative thinking, knowledge of a foreign language (e.g., English) etc.
- Entrepreneurial skills
- business basics like how to register as self-employed or pay taxes, creating marketing plans, business projects, cooperating with non-governmental and non-profit organizations.
Sectoral portraits for Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are attached below: these draft documents have been developed through field interviews, desk research and focus groups involving participants working in the craft sector in all eight countries of this project. The information contained in the documents is subject to revision based on further research. Those documents have not been through the ETF’s quality editing process for language or presentation and are provided on open space solely for information purposes, as agreed during the technical meeting hold on 28 July. Attached are also the documents (PTT) shared during the meeting in order to highlight findings and discuss the way forward.
The second session of the meeting, looked ahead toward Phase 2 (July 2021 – May 2022).
In this phase, four in-depth sector skills studies (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan) have been produced and contribute, through online and live events, to the development of the network among organizations of ETF’s partner countries focusing on craftsmanship and design. The project’s stakeholders group became familiar with new trends and developments in the crafts sector through the exchange of international experiences in a stakeholder network. Two online meetings have been organised for the project stakeholders: they focussed on sharing of experiences in the craft sectors of the EU and its partner countries, as well as presenting the work of the Michelangelo Foundation. On the top of that, the stakeholders had the opportunity to become part of Michelangelo Foundation’s existing network.
The four in-depth sector skills studies (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan) with infographics, as well as a summary report and related PPTs, are available at the bottom of the page. Please be informed that, like the eight portraits above, they have not been through the ETF’s quality editing process for language or presentation and are provided on open space solely for information purposes.
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