APPRENTICESHIP

in great britain the gradual decline of apprenticeship, which had become apparent in the early part of the century and was due mainly to the increasing use of automatic and semi-automatic machinery, was accelerated during the war. all available boy and girl labour was employed on the mass production of munitions of war, and in many of the skilled occupations the recruitment of boys and girls as appren- tices practically ceased, while the training of boys who had become apprentices was cut short by military service or preju- diced by the fact that skilled journeymen, working under great pressure, had no time to instruct. reconstruction scheme-—the consequent shortage of appren- tices might have been accentuated by the loss of those appren- tices whose training had been interrupted by military service had it not been for the interrupted apprenticeships scheme, under which the ministry of labour paid to the employer a grant of one-third of the journeyman’s weekly rate to enable the appren- tice to receive, during a reduced period of renewed apprentice- ship, approximately the wage which he would have been earning if he had been continuously employed. the co-operation of organisations of employers and workpeople was secured and appropriate schemes were issued for each industry. thus some 45,000 apprentices, who might otherwise have drifted into unskilled or semi-skilled employment or have remained unem- ployed, completed their training and qualified as journeymen, while it is estimated that an equal number of apprentices was apponyi—apprenticeship re-absorbed under schemes similar to the government scheme but not assisted by a government grant. post-war difficulties —since the war the recruitment of apprentices has been handicapped by trade depression. many employers have been reluctant to engage apprentices when it has not been certain that there would be work on which to train them or when for economic reasons it was essential that the whole time of the skilled worker should be spent on productive work. on the other hand, boys have been deterred from binding them- selves as apprentices by the marked rise of wages of the “ shel- tered ”’ semi-skilled or unskilled worker, who might be receiving as much or more than the unsheltered skilled worker; by the high rate of unemployment in certain of the skilled trades; by the inability of his parents to support him on the low wages usually paid during the early years of apprenticeship; or by the urgent need in the home for the high immediate wage which can fre- quently be obtained in comparatively unskilled occupations which offer no ‘‘ prospects.” ' industrial organisations—the possibility of a shortage of skilled workers due to a decline in the number of apprentices has not been overlooked by employers’ and workers’ organisations and such joint industrial bodies as joint industrial councils. certain of the more important industries are taking steps to augment the supply of apprentices, while special schemes for the training and employment of apprentices have been prepared by a number of joint industrial bodies. a definite attempt to increase the number of apprentices in the building industry in connection with housing schemes has been made by the nationa! building industry committee, a joint body which works in co-operation with the ministry of health. new conditions and problems. —lit is difficult to forecast the future of apprenticeship in great britain. the increasing use of “mass production” methods of manufacture will, no doubt, reduce the proportion of skilled men required, but the skilled men who are employed when such methods are used must be highly trained, and in most industries the view is held that this training can best be given under a system of apprenticeship. there is a tendency in certain industries, however, to provide for the recruitment of skilled workers by a carefully regulated system of “ up-grading ” selected semi-skilled workers instead of by a system of apprenticeship. possibly in the future the two systems will be found side by side. but the following important industries still look to apprenticeship to supply most of their future skilled workers:—printing and bookbinding, engineering and ironfounding, shipbuilding, building, furniture, electrical contracting, vehicle building, gold, silver and jewelry manufac- ture, hand-sewn boot and shoe making and repairing, surgical and optical instrument making, heating and domestic engineer- ing, dress and mantle making, millinery and the manufacture of women’s dress generally. change of status.—during the last generation a change has taken place in apprenticeship itself. the apprentice who lived with his employer’s family had largely disappeared in the latter half of the roth century and his place had been taken by the “indentured ”’ apprentice who was bound by written articles. in his turn the indentured apprentice is slowly disappearing. many of the so-called apprentices in great britain to-day are not indentured; they may be employed under written agree- ments other than indentures or merely in accordance with a “verbal understanding.” a boy may work with journeymen and may be recognised by them and possibly by the trade union as an “apprentice,” but the employer may not be under any definite obligation to the boy. broadly speaking, a young worker is regarded in great britain to-day as an “ apprentice,” if, during the early years of his employment, he receives wages which are definitely less in amount than the worth of his services and con- currently obtains from the employer such training as will enable him to qualify as a journeyman. altitude of employers.—since 1910 the number of employers in great britain who take definite steps to encourage the tech- nical training of apprentices has steadily increased and at the present time (1926) there are believed to be in england and aqueducis wales alone at least 70,000 learners and apprentices who are aided or encouraged by their employers to pursue courses of instruction. the methods used vary from industry to industry and from firm to firm. the “ sandwich ” system may be adopted under which the apprentice or learner spends alternate periods in the works and in the technical school or university faculty of engineering: young workers may be released for one or two half-days a week in order that they may attend classes; appren- tices may be permitted to leave work early in order that they may attend technical schools: classes may be established in the works by the employer with or without the assistance of the local education authority: or an apprentice supervisor may be appointed to ensure that apprentices receive proper instruction. many joint industrial councils have education committees or apprenticeship committees which concern themselves with the industrial training of apprentices, while some trade boards have prepared schemes for the training of their young workers. government po.icy great britain.—the policy of successive british governments since the conclusion of the war has been to leave each industry to determine questions of apprenticeship in accordance with its own needs but to encourage consideration of the subject by organisations of employers and workers and by joint industrial organisations. other countries—in other countries there has been a tendency on the part of the state to intervene and a disinclination to leave such an important matter as the recruitment and training of potential skilled workers to be settled by the industries them- selves. in new zealand and in certain of the australian states statutory awards are made, closely regulating the conditions under which apprentices may be engaged and employed. a bill at present under consideration in new zealand enlarges the powers of the state and lays emphasis on the need for relating apprenticeship and technical training, whilst similar proposals are being considered in south africa. in germany the industrial code regulates generally the employment of apprentices and includes a provision determining the number of apprentices that may be employed by an individual employcr, but detailed regu- lations are left to mdustrial organisations. in france and in most other european states apprenticeship is regulated to a greater or less extent by legislation, which has regard primarily to the importance of technical training. legislation proposed in france in effect compels employers who do not make reasonable provision for the training of their apprentices to contribute to a fund for the support of technical training provided by the state. in sweden comprehensive legislation regulating apprenticeship is under discussion. in the united states, however, apprenticeship as understood in europe has largely decayed; questions of apprenticeship are determined by the custom of the trade or in accordance with the views of individual employers having regard to the internal organisation of the industry from the point of view of methods of production; increasing emphasis is being laid on the need for training young workers in the quickest and most efficient manner possible, and rapid strides have been made in the provision of technical instruction, inside or outside the workshop, for appren- tices and other young workers. (see technical education.) bibliography.—r. a. bray, boy labour and apprenticeship (i911); o. j. dunlop, english apprenticeship and child labour (1912); p. h. douglas, american apprenticeship and industrial education (1921). (w. hh. l.-w.)