Very little is recorded on exactly how apprentices were trained in the early days. Nevertheless, whether or not craft workers acquired their skills in training here or abroad or through their own devices, they apparently deserved the title. They were amazingly skillful, judging for example by the excellent condition of many of the buildings built in this country more than 150 years ago.

In England, early apprentices were required to make a masterpiece or test piece after completing their apprenticeships. This sample of work was submitted for inspection by a group of masters to gain guild recognition of their status "freemen." Since modern apprentices in U.S. industry start producing almost immediately, and each job they do is carefully inspected, the production of a final test piece is not necessary. Moreover, the care with which apprenticeship candidates are selected and the entrance tests they are required to pass help to assure that those accepted for training will become skilled workers.

When America was settled, craft workers coming to the New World from England and other European countries brought with them the practice of indenture and the system of master-apprentice relationships. Indenture derived its name from the English practice of tearing indentations or notches in duplicate copies of apprenticeship forms. This uneven edge identified the copy retained by the apprentice as a valid copy of the form retained by the master.

In those days, both the original and the copy of the indenture were signed by the master and the parent or guardian of the apprentice. Most of the apprentices were 14 years of age or younger. By comparison, today most apprentices begin training between the ages of 18 and 24. The modern apprenticeship agreement is signed by the employer; by a representative of a joint management-labor apprenticeship committee, or both; and by the apprentice. If the apprentice is a minor, the parent or guardian also signs.

Today's Apprenticeship Programs

Apprenticeship, in simplest terms, is training in occupations that require a wide and diverse range of skills and knowledge, as well as maturity and independence of judgment. It involves planned, day-by-day training on the job and experience under proper supervision, combined with related technical instruction.

Today's apprenticeships are keeping alive a knowledge of many crafts and skills that in other times were passed on largely by family tradition. Nowadays, apprentices are members of a production force as they train on the job and in the classroom. They are paid wages and work a regular workweek. Their apprenticeship agreements set out the work processes in which they are to be trained and the hours and wages for each training period. At the end of their apprenticeship, they receive certificates that are similar to the diplomas awarded the engineering graduates of universities.

Annually there are nearly one-half million registered apprentices in training in American industry.

They are under the guidance of experienced craft workers in such skilled occupations as computer operator, operating engineer, machinist, bricklayer, tool and dye maker, electrician, drafter, ironworker, and many more.

Management, labor, and government work together to promote apprenticeship and to develop sound standards for its practice. In many communities, joint management-labor apprenticeship committees conduct and supervise the local programs. A major means for promoting apprenticeship is through a wide exchange of information on the advantages and methods of well-organized and well-run apprenticeship programs. The Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training distributes this information widely through newspapers, industrial periodicals, discussions at annual conventions of employer associations and unions, and regional apprenticeship conferences. About 800 apprenticeable occupations - most of them in the construction, manufacturing, transportation, and service industries - are covered in registered programs.

For young persons just starting out in the world of work, apprenticeship has important advantages. It offers an efficient way to learn skills, for the training is planned and organized and is not hit-or-miss.

The apprentices earn as they learn, for they are already workers. When their apprenticeship is completed, youth are assured of a secure future and a good standard of living because training is in the crafts where skill is much in demand. Opportunities for employment and advancement open up with the recognition that the apprentices are now skilled craft workers.

One important way that apprenticeship-trained workers contribute to industry is in supervisory positions. Apprenticeship provides not only many supervisors on our production lines, but also many top-level officials in American business. Rapid changes in our industrial system require a large body of skilled workers who are able to carry out technical specifications and who can supervise less skilled members of the work force.

The apprenticeship system has grown up with America. Like America, it is still growing and changing. To meet the need for changes in production methods and products, apprenticeships have been set up in new trades, and apprenticeships in many of the older trades have been updated.

Apprenticeship has served in many periods of history. Today it is clear that this method for teaching and learning skills system remains one of the best ways of training skilled craft workers.

Registered Apprenticeship

Registered apprenticeship describes those apprenticeship programs which met specific federally approved standards designed to safeguard the welfare of apprentices and which are registered with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT), U.S. Department of Labor, or one of 27 State apprenticeship agencies or councils (SAC) approved by BAT. It is a relationship between an employer and employee during which the worker, or apprentice, learns an occupation in a structured program sponsored jointly by employers and labor unions or operated by employers and employer associations.

Currently, there are registered apprenticeships in over 830 occupations. These occupations are not limited to any particular industry, and include construction, metal, and the printing trades. Registered apprenticeship programs also exist in other industries and occupations such as health care, culinary arts, and public safety.

This country's greatest asset is the skill and know-how of its people. The future strength, defense and progress of the nation is dependent upon our commitment to preserving this asset by developing the skills and knowledge of our work force.

Experience indicates that apprentices are more motivated, learn their jobs faster, attain craft worker status sooner and are more likely to become supervisors than workers trained in other ways.