CEARTE is a Centre for Professional Training with joint management, created in 1986 by means of a protocol between the IEFP (Institute of Employment and Professional Training) and the Cáritas Diocesana of Coimbra.

Its attributes are the response to the need for professional training in the handicrafts sector, through the qualification of new craftsmen/women in areas of high employability, or in areas which allow the reversal of the process of decay in activities which still show the conditions for economic viability, or by means of carrying out training activities of craftsmen/women in the field, so contributing to making viable the employment initiatives and for developing the sector.

Aware that professional training is an important tool and plays an essential role in renewing and adding value to traditional trades, the Centre carries out on average 80 training activities per year, distributed throughout the national territory (of Portugal), involving around 800 trainees. The result of the activities translates into an 80% employability of the trainees, making handicrafts an economically, culturally and socially relevant activity.