Future of crafts: Experience professions up close at the trade fair in Bamberg!

Future of crafts: Experience professions up close at the trade fair in Bamberg!

On October 11, 2025, the event took place at the State Vocational School Center in Bamberg“Crafts Fair for Crafts”took place, which met with widespread interest. Around 1,000 young people and their parents took part to find out about a wide range of training opportunities in the skilled trades. The event was organized by the Chamber of Crafts for Upper Franconia, the local district craft associations, guilds and companies. One goal of the fair was to provide practical career orientation in order to dispel common clichés about crafts and to promote appreciation of crafts in society. HWK President Graßmann sees this as a positive change in attitudes towards the industry.

Young people had the opportunity to become active themselves at more than 30 action stands. They were able to try out craft activities such as sawing, hammering and painting. Creative projects were also planned, including making cell phone holders, individual picture frames and hearts from copper pipes and slate tiles. A special highlight was virtual welding in metal construction, where participants immersed themselves in the digital world of craftsmanship using VR glasses. The action stands were looked after by active trainees as well as training masters and business owners who acted as mentors.

A look behind the scenes

What is particularly noteworthy is that many young people planned concrete steps towards their professional future during the fair. In terms of numbers, they agreed on trial internships and held further discussions with interested companies. The career fair not only shows the diversity of training offers, but also the young people's desire for direct interaction and practical experience.

The relevance of such events should not be underestimated, especially given the ongoing shortage of skilled workers in the skilled trades. According to [Statista](https://de.statista.com/themen/1398/aus trainees-im-handwerk/), there are currently over 150,000 positions unfilled. Crafts are one of the largest fields of employment in Germany; However, the number of trainees has tended to decline in recent decades. In 2024, around 342,000 apprentices were employed in the German craft sector, which represents a decrease of 34 percent compared to 1990.

Challenges of craftsmanship

The training occupations in the craft sector show an interesting distribution: the electrical and metal trades are the most represented with around 184,700 trainees. However, if you look at the unfilled training positions, professions such as plumbers, butchers and concrete and steel workers stand out, where young people are urgently needed. The most popular training occupation in 2024 was automotive mechatronics technician with around 63,900 apprentices. Interestingly, around 9,100 of the female trainees chose the hairdressing profession.

The tailwind from such a trade fair could make a decisive contribution to attracting interested young people to the trade and to show them the diverse educational and career paths that this industry offers. With this in mind, it remains to be seen how many of the young people who took part in the career fair discover their passion for the craft and take the step into training.