The School for Artisan Restorers was se up in 1994 thanks to an agreement between the Art Restorers Association in Piedmont (APRA) and the Youth Missionary Service (SERMIG), the lay fraternity led by Ernesto Olivero who has renovated the former military arsenal of Turin transforming it into the "Arsenal of Peace". The Art Restorers Association had been looking for somebody who would understand the need for a structure dedicated to the transfer of ancient skills and methods, handed down over the years through apprenticeships in artisan workshops: a method which has become almost impossible due to the present labour laws. The first courses started in November 1997. These were four year courses organised as follows: in the first year students were introduced to the various vocational skills offered by the School; after having identified the most suitable course for a student the following two years were dedicated to specialisation activities in the Workshop chosen; finally the last year was dedicated to training and apprenticeship for a full immersion in the sector chosen. During the first course year the School, a private vocational training institute, felt the need to be recognised by the Piedmont Region in order to provide students with a certificate, that would not just be symbolic even though prestigious, but that would be recognised in the working world at a regional and national level. The recognition as regional Vocational Training Agency obtained in 2000 has totally changed the Course Programme which changes every year according to market and labour Directives and funding by the European Social Fund. However, all this has not altered the initial project where space, lighting and equipment are used to recreate the atmosphere and environment in which artisans, owner of precious "workshops", can guide students and teach them the "trade". It is not simply a course but a true School for Artisan Art Restorers with the twofold objective of creating new job opportunities for young people and contributing to safeguard the artistic heritage, a patrimony which shall die in time if not properly supported. Since 2002 the School's organisation has been entirely managed by Sermig, an institution which has always paid special attention to youngsters.