Craftsmanship: What Are the 4 Key Sectors?

The Chambers of Trades and Crafts distinguish 4 major activity sectors grouping the trades that fall under craftsmanship. These sectors are: food, construction, manufacturing and services. In France, there are more than 250 trades attached to them for nearly 510 different activities. A dynamic sector, craftsmanship represents no less than 25% of the country's economy. The most important sector is construction which constitutes 40% of all registered craft activities. Next comes the services category (32%), manufacturing (17%) and food (11%). Whether equipped with kitchen clothing, work overalls or safety shoes, all are craftsmanship professionals.

Table of Contents: 

• The food sector
• Who are construction craftspeople?
• Manufacturing and production in craftsmanship
• Craftspeople: service trades

From the most traditional to the most modern, craft trades are constantly evolving as new technologies, materials and means of communication appear. They also reflect the concerns of our society, with recent growth in trades related to ecology, waste reprocessing and clean technologies. This is where the most hiring opportunities for young people are found, even though many other craft sectors are recruiting, particularly in construction and food trades.

Craft enterprises are generally modest in size and rarely exceed twenty employees. This means that a craftsperson must add several strings to their bow to be a good entrepreneur. They must be able not only to manage their team, but also to handle accounting and prepare estimates, not forgetting to build a clientele. All this requires a real entrepreneurial sense, but also appropriate training. Beyond the CAP (Certificate of Professional Aptitude), it is recommended to pursue a BTS (Higher Technician Certificate) or a BUT (University Bachelor of Technology, formerly DUT: University Diploma of Technology) to obtain the qualifications suited to the desired profession.