The shortage of skilled workers across Europe is becoming a very prominent issue. Experienced professional repairmen are retiring and younger generations have other careers in sight. With technology evolving at a fast pace, this risks leaving a big market gap to fill.

At a time when societal and legislative pressure is growing on manufacturers to make repair easier for consumers, preserving the safety of the home and the people who live in it, remains a key prerogative for the industry while playing a critical role in enabling the green transition. This sparked the idea originated by APPLiA Hungary to kick start a repair educational programme, in partnership with local vocational schools, offering young adults adequate training for household appliance repair. “On top of revamping a disappearing profession, the programme has helped generate new jobs in Europe while injecting skilled professionals into the market,” explained Fanni Mészáros, Director General of APPLiA Hungary and coordinator of the project. Active since 2018, “the initiative has already trained 60 young experts, who are now employed full-time in the sector, across the country,” added Mészáros, highlighting the tangible benefits of the scheme.

With repair requests growing across Europe, “we felt the need to build on this success story by broadening the scope of the programme and creating a dedicated platform for all future professional repairers,” outlined Paolo Falcioni, Director General of APPLiA Europe. 90% of the requests to manufacturers for a repair of a product result in an actual repair. “This is the trend we need to foster,” commented Falcioni. Consumers not only have a right to repair, but most importantly “a right to have their products repaired right,” he continued. This is where the educational book on the repair of home appliances comes into play, providing technical information to young professionals on how to perform the repair of products. The online platform, launched on October 15th on the occasion of International Repair Day, is open to all APPLiA Members, EU policymakers and national authorities, professional repairers as well as educational establishments providing repair courses. The digital version of the book, which can also be purchased in hard copy, is currently available in English, with a multilingual option under development. Already ahead of its official launch, “the initiative was welcomed by Member States representatives and high-level experts of the European Institutions,” highlighted Falcioni, as a core element to the upcoming proposal of the European Commission to promote repair and sustainable consumption of goods.

Similar initiatives were also undertaken by other organisations within APPLiA’s network of National Associations. APPLiA Slovakia and APPLiA CZ in cooperation with national high schools launched their very own repair educational programmes centred around the book, translated into their respective languages. These efforts are in order to boost the number of aspiring repairers by supporting the education of new service technicians. On top of this, the Polish branch launched an improvement programme for modern home appliance technicians with an eye to building long-lasting cooperation with technical schools while modernising the image of an old, yet still a gold, profession. The programme was rooted around the development of a textbook, in-class repair courses and an e-learning platform accessible to professionals and teachers.

Discover more at www.repair-it-right.eu