Job Shadowing in Tuscany: Craftsmanship, Exchange and Future Plans for Natural Stone 03/06/2026

As part of Erasmus+, our natural stone and woodworking teacher, Danny Schelfthout, traveled to Tuscany together with our director, Marleen Mast, for an inspiring job shadowing experience from 20-22^nd of May. In Lucca and Carrara—regions with a rich tradition in both education and craftsmanship—meeting, knowledge sharing and collaboration were central.

We received a warm welcome from our partners at the Ufficio Scolastico and the Province of Lucca and Carrara. During several meetings, we explored how we can further strengthen our cooperation, with particular attention to international exchange and practice-oriented training.

At schools such as the Liceo Classico Machiavelli and the Istituto Agrario Busdraghi, we gained insight into how strongly they focus on hands-on learning, digital applications and connections with the local environment. The interaction with students and colleagues led to engaging conversations and new perspectives.

In Carrara, world-renowned for its marble, the focus was on technical education and craftsmanship. At IIS Zaccagna Galilei, we discovered well-equipped laboratories and innovative approaches. The Tacca Marble School also made a strong impression: a place where tradition and expertise are passed on to new generations of craftsmen.

A visit to the marble quarries and the company TorArt brought the full story together—from raw material to finished product. We saw how traditional techniques go hand in hand with new technologies such as robotics, 3D and laser scanning.

During this job shadowing, not only were many practices and techniques exchanged, but there was also an active exploration of future collaboration. In particular, we see strong opportunities with the marble school to further strengthen our natural stone training programme.

👉 Stay tuned, because we have many exciting plans ahead for our natural stone training!

👉 You can read how our visit was experienced from the Italian perspective in this article by our partners.