Sofinaboel Fund for Young Craftsmen in Heritage Professions (Belgium)

It tries to do this by giving them the opportunity to come into contact with the best craftsmen and trainers in their field worldwide. Thanks to the grants, craftsmen can perfect their skills in a training center or with a master abroad.

• Every year until the end of August, a call for projects is launched to identify the training projects that the fund wishes to support. The call for projects consists of 2 parts:
  • Scholarship for further training abroad: The aim of this scholarship is to enable a candidate to follow further training with a master in Belgium or abroad.
  • Grant for a duo junior/senior: This grant consists of two parts: it enables a junior craftsman/woman to do an internship with a senior craftsman/woman. Once the junior’s training is completed, he/she can carry out certain tasks in the senior’s workshop so that the latter can do his/her own internship.

Funding Information

• The grants are awarded on the basis of the real cost and cannot exceed 12,500 euros per grant.
• This amount can be revised if the candidate needs a higher amount to complete the training (cost of the material, duration of the training, etc.

Funding Procedure 

• The grant will be paid out as follows:
  • 30% of the grant upon signing the agreement.
  • 30% halfway through the process after receiving an activity report with an overview of the costs incurred.
• The balance (30%) after receipt of:
  • An activity report with a photo report with an explanation of the internship and the assignments/progress made.
  • An accounting report stating all costs incurred.
• To facilitate the preparation of these reports, a sample document will be made available to the candidate.

Eligibility Criteria 

• The jury of experts will pay attention to the following points:
  • The candidate must have at least five years of work experience.
  • He/she must be able to propose pieces of work that demonstrate talent. This is done on the basis of photos and references of recent assignments that are added to the file.
  • He/she must be able to submit reference letters and/or statements from clients and/or entrepreneurs.
  • He/she must work in Belgium or focus on it.
  • He/she must have chosen an internship or a further training course abroad in a renowned training center, a specialized workshop, a model shipyard in Europe or with a teacher famous in his field.
  • The medium or long-term internship must make a real contribution to his craftsmanship, his knowledge of materials and techniques.
  • The candidate will be assessed on his/her motivation: he/she must be passionate about his profession and strive to fully master the specific craft techniques.

For more information, visit KBS.