The Azza Fahmy Foundation for the Development of Handicraft Industries, in partnership with the Swiss Drosos Foundation, held the closing ceremony of the "Qualifying Young Craftsmen in the Field of Jewelry Making" project on Sunday. The project spanned over five years and aimed to provide training opportunities for young people in jewelry making, fill the needs of the local market with qualified young craftsmen, and help graduates establish small projects and market emerging brands.
The project had three main goals: to provide training and qualification opportunities in the jewelry industry, create employment opportunities, and assist graduates in establishing small projects and marketing emerging brands. The Azza Fahmy Foundation provided the training and qualification, while the Swiss Drosos Foundation financed the project.
A total of 91 trainees received training in jewelry making and its various specializations over six batches, with each batch having a six-month training period. The project also selected approximately 40 trainees to receive a design training scholarship within the Azza Fahmy Design Studio.
The trainees underwent various training and qualification courses, including training on manufacturing processes, preparing and qualifying training cadres in the jewelry sector, and qualification courses on establishing projects and marketing emerging brands. The project contributed to the employment of some graduates in the Egyptian Jewelry Factory, Azza Fahmy Factory, and other factories, and appointed some of them as assistant trainers in the Azza Fahmy Design Studio. The project also provided financial grants to three graduates to implement their projects.
The project management set several conditions for admission to the training scholarship, including working in the jewelry industry after the end of the training period. The organization helped graduates obtain jobs or establish their own projects, and a work team followed up, evaluated, and helped graduates enter the labor markets.
The project was initially scheduled for three years starting in 2019 but was extended for about five years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which made it challenging to provide industry training services online. The fruitful results of the project encouraged the Azza Fahmy Foundation and the Drosos Foundation to consider continuing the project to provide training and qualification grants during the coming period, in light of the market’s need for qualified craftsmen to strengthen the jewelry industry in Egypt.
The Azza Fahmy Foundation has many partnerships and collaborations with some parties to provide training grants in the field of preserving, reviving, and developing traditional crafts to meet the needs of the industry. These include the Aswan Jewelry Project, which is a partnership between the Sawiris Foundation and the Bank of Alexandria.
The Azza Fahmy Foundation for the Development of Handicraft Industries was founded in 2012 to preserve Egyptian traditional crafts, which are an integral part of cultural heritage. It is a non-profit organization registered with the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The Foundation works to build the capabilities and skills of young people with limited opportunities to create a new generation of goldsmiths.
Contributed by Ahmed Emam
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