In the autumn, the 1-year handicraft education - with the possibility of continuing for another year - at the Sami education center in Jokkmokk will not be started.
The students who are now leaving the first year and who planned to go to the second year as well, may not continue, like Johan Heaika Eira Heahttá from Kautokeino.
- It is sad because I thought to continue another year and finish the education but I understand that when there are so few applicants you can not continue the education, says Johan Heaika Eira Heahttá who plans to apply again the following year with the hope that the education starts then .
The reason why the handicraft education takes a break is that there are no applicants for an education that has been running for 50 years.
- I myself am passionate about handicrafts and have it as a profession and absolutely do not want to see such a development, but it is something that has happened, something that creates this and in the board we must evaluate what comes of it and start working with new forward-looking goals to ensure that this is hopefully a one-time incident, says Nils Johan Labba, vice chairman of the board of the Sami education center.
Interest has declined for a long time
Per Ola Utsi from Porjus has crafted all his life, already as a child he learned it from his father.
He has also worked as a teacher of handicrafts at the Sami education center for 20 years and he says he has seen that interest in handicrafts has decreased for a long time.
Terrible, he thinks it is but takes some of the blame.
- I think it's a bit of my generation's fault that it has become like this.
We were too quick to keep up with the new times.
We did not have time to supervise the young people, not time to teach them.
And when you do not grab them and teach, they look for other interests, says Per Ola Utsi.
A challenge
The school has tried to get more applicants by extending the application period but without results.
Principal Matilda Burman sees several possible reasons.
One could be that the pandemic has changed people's habits, that you do not want to be in a place for a long time to educate yourself.
- It is clear that it is sad when we do not get enough applicants, but at the same time I think it can be a fresh start.
When we take a break for a year, we can work with both the structure and the pedagogical material.
We get time to think about how we should do to attract more applicants, says Matilda Burman.
- I think there may be a solution to that.
I would like to look back and ask who can be a teacher, we must highlight these people who have knowledge and background in traditional handicraft and try to educate them so that they want to be supervisors and teachers, such people are in great shortage, says Per Ola Utsi.