French Compagnonnage is an efficient means of transmitting knowledge and know-how linked to the stone, wood, metal, leather, textiles, and food industries. Compagnons is derived from the Old French compagnon. It means to break bread together.
This French organization of craftsmen and artisans dates back to the Middle Ages. Its full name is Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France. As part of their traditional, technical education, they take part in the Tour de France and train as apprentices under masters.
Community members live in a Compagnon house known as cayenne, and they are managed by a mère who looks after the well-being of the resident community. More than 80 of these houses exist in France. The houses vary in size, ranging from five to over a hundred people living together.
Rather than adopt only one method or process of knowledge transmission, it synthesizes diverse methods and processes: foreign educational travel (the 'Tour de France' period), initiation rituals, schooling, customary learning, and technical apprenticeship. For example, a typical weekday for a carpenter would involve working full-time for the company they work for. They would then have dinner at 7 or 8 with the community living there and then go to classes until 10 pm to learn technical drawing, technology, French, English, mathematics, etc. On Saturdays, classes are from 8 am to 12 pm and from 1 pm to 5:30 pm. They learn their skills through working on multiple projects and lessons. On Sundays, the team explores the concept of a masterwork.
Around 45,000 people are involved in the Compagnonnage movement, who belong to one of three groups. Compagnonnage communities are open to those aged 16 and over who wish to learn and/or develop their skills in a particular profession. Apprenticeship lasts on average five years, they are required to travel throughout France once every six months to a year; this is unrelated to the Tour de France cycling competition. They are required to change work locations each time to find ways to pass on knowledge.
In order to transmit the knowledge, the apprentice must create a 'masterwork' that will be examined and assessed by the mentor. Among the last movements that practice ancient craft techniques, deliver excellence in craft training, closely integrate the development of a person with the training of a worker, and perform trade initiation rites, the compagnonage movement is popularly perceived as the last.
In today's society, the Compagnonnage is a traditional mentoring network that assists young people in learning a trade while experiencing life in their community and traveling.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/compagnonnage-network-for-on-the-job-transmission-of-knowledge-and-identities-00441) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compagnons_du_Devoir)