In addition, some employers encourage workers to improve their skills by enrolling in short-term technical school courses such as sample making, wax carving, or gemology. Many employers pay all or part of the cost of this additional training. The Gemological Institute of America offers programs lasting about 6 months, and self-paced correspondence courses lasting several years, leading to a gemologist diploma and a jeweler diploma. These advanced programs cover a wide range of topics including appraisal, evaluating diamonds and colored stones, identifying gems, and designing jewelry. This training lasts 3 to 4 years, depending on the difficulty of the specialty.
Training usually focuses on casting, stonesetting, modelmaking, or engraving.
In recent years, a growing number of technical schools and colleges have begun to offer training designed for jewelers working in manufacturing. Like employers in retail trade, though, those in manufacturing now prefer graduates of these programs because they are familiar with the production process, allowing less in-house training. To enter most technical school or college programs, a high school diploma or its equivalent is required. Courses in art, math, mechanical drawing, and chemistry are useful. The precise and delicate nature of jewelry work requires finger and hand dexterity, good hand-eye coordination, patience, and concentration.