Next Steps
Deep Dive 3 of 3 · Building the Future
Next Steps
This section presents the Norwegian guild currently being established, the two-year transitional arrangement designed to bring the examination boards into operation, the new Norwegian - Polish collaboration, and the roadmap for Finland and the wider Nordic region.
What Is Being Built
Norway's First Musical Instrument Makers' Guild
Guilds already exist for certain groups of musical instruments, but their primary purpose is not vocational education. The proposed guild will be the first to focus specifically on education and to play an active role in establishing and maintaining professional standards for training.
The guild will form the industry-led backbone of the journeyman and master qualification system, based on the same principles as those applied in Markneukirchen and the Polish Izby Rzemieślnicze (Craft Chambers). It will also become the first Nordic musical instrument makers' guild of its kind. The structure rests on four fundamental pillars:
The Guild
Examination Boards
The School
Nordic Music Institute
Pilot Project
A Two-Year Transitional Arrangement
To establish qualified master craftspeople within the examination boards, the Norwegian Master Craft Certificate Board, in cooperation with the guild, will launch a two-year pilot project based on a transitional arrangement. During this period, master qualifications will follow the previous framework, without the requirement to produce a master piece—a requirement that will be introduced under the new qualification system.
This transitional arrangement is necessary to ensure that the examination boards can be staffed while the full vocational education programme is being established. Without a sufficient number of qualified master craftspeople, no examination boards can be constituted, and without examination boards the entire certification system cannot operate.
Verification
Instrument makers who do not hold a full master craft qualification in musical instrument making will undergo verification in collaboration with professional musicians, who will assess whether their restoration, repair, and tuning work meets the required professional standard.
Duration
The transitional arrangement will remain in place for two years. Its purpose is to ensure that a sufficient number of master craftspeople have completed their qualifications and are able to serve on the examination boards by the end of the transitional period.
Scope
The arrangement can be extended to Norway, the Nordic countries, and the Baltic states, enabling the entire region to establish examination boards based on the same industry-led professional standard.
A New Norwegian–Polish Collaboration
The Polish Case - A New Norwegian - Polish Arrangement
In April 2026, Musikk Instrument Akademiet was invited by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture to participate in a conference in Poland. The purpose was to introduce professional organisations such as MIA AS to potential Polish partners as part of a new initiative established by the Ministry of Culture to promote collaborative projects between Norway and Poland.
The Polish case demonstrates what is concretely at stake. The figures provide the clearest evidence that a guild structure is not merely a formality, but a necessity.
qualified professionals within the formal core
50+ philharmonic orchestras and professional orchestras to serve
estimated assignments per year (repairs, tuning and restoration)
the realistic annual capacity
The shortfall is met by self-taught practitioners and individuals holding limited or easily obtained certifications, but without a recognised professional foundation. The same pattern - albeit on a smaller absolute scale - can be observed in Norway and across the rest of the Nordic region.
Advisory Roadmap
Transfer of the Model - A Path Forward for Finland
The guild-based model is fully transferable. Finland is already part of the Nordic–Baltic network and the EHMI consortium through the Finnish Folk Music Institute (UNESCO-accredited and Chair of the ICH NGO Forum in 2026). The Markneukirchen framework provides the common standard for implementation.
Map Finnish instrument makers, repairers, tuners, and restorers using the common methodology developed for the Nordic and Baltic region.
Align the Finnish profession with the Markneukirchen guidelines and the standards of the German Chamber of Crafts (Handwerkskammer).
Establish a guild body empowered to appoint examination boards under the industry-led model.
In collaboration with the Norwegian College of Vocational Education and Training, the Norwegian Master Craft Certificate Board (Mesterbrevnemnda), the Helsinki Conservatory of Music (Helsingin konservatorio), the Finnish Folk Music Institute, and the Eric Sahlström Institute (Sweden).
Become part of the emerging Nordic–German guild community and jointly celebrate the 350th anniversary of Markneukirchen in 2027.
The fundamental question
Will the music fade into silence, or will it live on?
Without instrument makers, there are no instruments to preserve. Without a guild, there is no institution to certify the next generation. A guild based on the Markneukirchen framework, linked to the new educational programme through industry-led examination boards, provides the institutional infrastructure that has long been absent across Norway, the Nordic countries, and the Baltic region.
All research, documentation and mapping presented in this publication have been undertaken by Musikk Instrument Akademiet AS (MIA), Fredrikstad, Norway, by Arnfred Marthinsen and Roger Nilssen.
Responsible for all research and documentation · Arnfred Marthinsen & Roger Nilssen