Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

Read the passage and select ALL correct options. Wrong selections lose points.

The shoe repair trade has shrunk in many towns, squeezed by mass-produced footwear that is often cheaper to replace than mend. Yet a small revival is underway among people seeking to extend the life of well-made leather boots and shoes, partly for environmental reasons and partly out of loyalty to inherited craftsmanship. Training remains almost entirely informal, passed from an experienced cobbler to an apprentice over several years, since no national qualification currently exists for the trade. Industry surveys suggest the average cobbler is now over fifty, and few workshops report a successor waiting to take over. Some vocational colleges have begun offering short leatherwork courses, though these focus on making new goods rather than repair, leaving the core repair skills largely unaddressed by formal education.