The closing down of Kemble this month sees the end of piano manufacture in Britain. It's a long time since any grand pianos were made here, and now there will be no uprights either. It's kinda sad really. As far as training for new tuner/technicians goes, how will there be any? It seems that there is very little "demand" in terms of young people wanting to train in this field. There is only one course left, at Newark in Nottinghamshire, and even that course seems to be hanging by a thread. And there are precious few rebuilding workshops, and the ones that exist tend to be one-man busiesses who cannot afford to take on and train apprentices. People are still buying and playing pianos, but they are of course made in China. What will happen over the next few years?
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