From poverty to qualified workers For children from the poorest families who made up the student body of the school the school was the only chance to learn a trade. It is also important to note that besides being taught a trade, students were not left to their own devices after graduation. Fulfilling orders from various Kaunas factories students got acquainted with future workplaces. Tailors and dress-makers, fitters, electrical mechanics and electricians trained at the school were employed by various factories and workshops. These included: the Feinbergas brothers’ cardboard and paper–products plant and lithography “Kartonaž”, Perkas and Šliomavičius’ yeast plant, the saccharine workshop, and the Kontinental tobacco plant. For instance, in 1939, out of  twenty-three students who graduated from the metalworking section, eighteen worked in this field, one was an office clerk, one served in the army and just three did not get jobs. The same year seven girls attended the dressmaking class; all of them worked as dressmakers, two of them independently. Some graduates were hired by firms abroad.