ORT courses in Basel started in 1944. The first courses offered included shoe-upper making and men and women's garment cutting. Soon after establishing of the school, in November 1944, boarding facilities were opened by ORT  for young girls aged fourteen to twenty who wanted to attended the two year course for female garment cutting. In the first year, the school had an enrolment of twenty-eight girls coming from Poland, Belgium, France, Germany, Yugoslavia and Hungary. Later instructors' courses in shirt making as well as classes in millinery and corsetry were added. The school was also accepting orders from private clients, with profits going for financial help to students.