The Cottbus Chamber of Crafts was established by the legislature in 1953 as a public-law corporation to carry out self-governing tasks in the area of the crafts and skilled trades industry. Around 9,700 craft enterprises are currently active in the Cottbus Chamber district. The administrative district covers the four counties of Dahme-Spreewald, Spree-Neiße, Oberspreewald-Lausitz and Elbe-Elster, as well as the independent city of Cottbus. Almost 1,700 vocational training relationships are registered in the chamber district.