PADUA, Italy—The third edition of the Safilo Eyewear Product School, a structured three-year apprenticeship, has officially opened. The program blends “cutting-edge requirements of artisan mastery with an international business context,” Safilo said.

In its 2017-2018 academic year, this third edition also marks the upcoming 140th anniversary of Safilo’s craftsmanship origins that date back to 1878. For the program, five individuals were selected from more than 130 applications received.

These new students of the Safilo Eyewear Product School will join their colleagues from the previous editions and will learn through practical on-the-job training, coaching, formal class tutorials and explorations in the field. They will gain a comprehensive knowledge of production from design to development, prototyping and engineering to industrial production along with planning and distribution.

Additionally, learning will involve job rotation across Safilo’s worldwide manufacturing locations, design studios and commercial subsidiaries, in order to develop from Safilo’s managerial figures in Product Design and Creation. The apprenticeship is designed as a foundational preparation for international career development toward Product Director at Safilo Group.

Safilo’s Product School is part of the group’s sustainability strategy, Product-People-Planet, reflecting the group’s corporate commitment to eyewear mastery—blending tradition, innovation, creativity and imagination in the development of modern eyewear artisanship.

“By entrusting new generations with its legacy, nurturing research, celebrating mastery and hand-making, and doing so in an international context, Safilo drives its very own contribution to meaningful skill building of new generations, and development of the eyewear industry, as a symbol of Italian excellence,” the company said.