The Portland Jewelry Academy mission is to provide solid foundations in fabrication, casting, and jewelry repair through our teaching practices. We want students to leave us confident in the knowledge and skills gained using traditional and modern jewelry manufacturing methods. We hope to foster an understanding of when each practice is most appropriate given a jewelry repair and manufacture situation. When students leave our school, they are ready to enter the job market as freshly trained bench jewelers.
Portland Jewelry Academy offers courses that are state licensed as well as some that are not. State oversight is an important part of choosing a school for employment education. State licensed schools follow guidelines set by the State of Oregon to protect students from education fraud. They also help to ensure that graduates are ready to enter the workforce. Adult education classes that are not for employment do not require licensing. The learning objectives of our licensed course at PJA include gaining the skills necessary to gain and maintain employment as a bench jeweler. The licensed program is also a prerequisite for our non-licensed courses which teach specialized skills. These skills on their own do no offer employability but can increase the value of a bench jeweler who has them.
“Portland Jewelry Academy has been a valuable resource for us when looking to hire new personnel. We have found that the graduates of PJA are passionate about our craft and have built a good foundation towards performing the specific tasks required for our products.”
-Teresa Frye
TechForm Advanced Casting Technology
(503)652-5224
