[The National Apprenticeship Program. 1945]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

THE NATIONAL
APPRENTICESHIP
PROGRAM
WAR MANPOWER COMMISSION BUREAU OF TRAINING APPRENTICE-TRAINING SERVICE Washington, D. C.
FOREWORD
This bulletin was prepared to give a brief nontechnical explanation of the national apprenticeship program. It is intended to provide answers to most of the inquiries received by the Apprentice-Training Service from teachers, men and women in vocational guidance work, employment offices, local groups of employers and employees and young people interested in learning a trade.
Where it is desired to secure information regarding technical problems, or matters affecting particular trades, or assistance in setting up a training program, inquiries should be addressed to our Washington office or to one of our regional offices listed on page 8.
William F. Patterson, Director,
Apprentice-Training Service.
The National Apprenticeship Program
ORIGIN OF THE APPRENTICE TRAINING SERVICE
In some of its own plants and shops, such as Navy yards, arsenals, and printing and engraving establishments, the Federal Government has been training apprentices for many years. However, in 1937, Congress decided that the training of all-round skilled workers is a matter of concern to all of the people. It therefore passed an act authorizing the Secretary of Labor to set up standards to guide industry in employing and training apprentices; to bring management and- labor together to work out plans for the training of apprentices; to appoint such national committees as needed; and to promote general acceptance of the standards and procedures agreed upon.
To carry out this function, the Apprentice-Training Service1 was established and a committee made up of representatives of management, labor, and interested Government agencies, known as the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship,2 was appointed to develop standards and policies.
APPRENTICESHIP POLICY
Programs for the employment and training of apprentices should be jointly developed and mutually satisfactory to the employers and to the employees. That, in brief, is a basic policy of the Apprentice-Training Service. Since apprentices are employed in a wide variety and constantly growing number of trades,3 the standards recommended by the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship are general in scope, leaving to the employers and employees in the different trades the responsibility for working out details. The following are the standards which guide the staff of the Apprentice-Training Service in assisting industry to set up systems for the training of apprentices:
DEFINITION OF APPRENTICE
The term "apprentice” shall mean a person at least 16 years of age who is covered by a written agreement registered with a State Apprenticeship Council, (Where no such Council exists registration is with the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship) providing for not less than 4,000 hours of reasonably continuous employment for such person, and for his participation in an approved schedule of work experience through employment, which should be supplemented by 144 hours per year of related classroom instruction.
1	Originally established in the U. S. Department of Labor, transferred April 18, 1942, by Executive Order No. 9193 to the Federal Security Agency, and on September 17, 1942, transferred by Executive Order No. 9247 to the War Manpower Commission.
2	Membership of the Federal Committee listed on page 7.
3	List of trades in which apprentices are known to be employed on page 6.
631691°—45
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BASIC STANDARDS
1.	An apprenticeable occupation is considered one which requires 4,000 or more hours to learn.
2.	A schedule of the work processes to be learned on the job.
3.	A progressively increasing scale of wages for the apprentice that should average approximately 50 percent of the journeymen’s rate over the period of apprenticeship.
4.	Provision for related classroom instruction (144 hours per year of such instruction is normally considered necessary).
5.	The terms and conditions of the employment and training of each apprentice to be stated in a written agreement and registered with the State Apprenticeship Council.
6.	Review of local apprenticeship by a State Apprenticeship Council,
7.	Apprenticeship should be jointly established by the employer and the employees.
8.	Adequate supervision and the keeping of records should be required for all apprenticeship programs.
STATE APPRENTICESHIP COUNCILS
To conform to accepted relationships between the Federal Government and the States as well as to secure the cooperation of interested State agencies and State associations of employers and employees, State Departments of Labor were requested to establish Apprenticeship Councils.4
These State Councils are made up of an equal number of representatives of employers and employees and usually a representative of the State Board for Vocational Education and a representative of the State Department of Labor.
Using the apprenticeship standards recommended by the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship as a guide, the State Councils set up their own standards and procedures which industry will be asked to follow in employing and training apprentices.
After a State Council has been appointed and has prepared its standards and procedures it becomes a part of the national apprenticeship system by securing recognition from the Apprentice-Training Service.
NATIONAL TRADE JOINT COMMITTEES
A number of national employer associations and trade unions have appointed apprenticeship committees to meet as joint management-labor committees to develop national trade apprenticeship standards and to encourage local employer and labor affiliates to set up training programs for apprentices to conform to the national standards agreed upon. As joint committees they follow up the national programs, analyze results and work out suggestions and methods for the improvement of training in their industries.
These national joint trade committees are appointed by their own industries. However, they tie in very closely on a voluntary basis with the Apprentice-Training Service. The latter provides continuing service to them in the form of statistical reports, copies of new local trade training programs, names of persons appointed by local groups to serve on joint committees and special reports or analyses of trade training
4	A list of recognized State Apprenticeship Councils is given on page 7,
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problems when requested. On the other hand, these committees furnish the Apprentice-Training Service advice on the handling of special problems relating to or affecting training in their respective industries.
LOCAL JOINT TRADE APPRENTICESHIP COMMITTEES
Since the actual employment and training of apprentices takes place in local communities, it is apparent that all of the work of national and State apprenticeship groups is directed toward securing interest and action on the part of local employers and employees.
In those trades where both employers and employees maintain local organizations the objective is to secure the appointment of a local joint apprenticeship committee for the particular trade. This committee is given the responsibility by the appointing organizations to develop standards to govern the employment and training of all apprentices in the trade by all employers in the group and by other employers who may not be members of the employers’ organization but who are willing to subscribe to the written apprentice training system.
Included in the written program, besides the standards of employment and training, are procedures for the supervision and examination of the apprentices.
The employment standards establish qualifications for employment such as the amount of required education, aptitude, age limitations, wages, hours of work, and any other particulars which concern the apprentice as a worker. The training standards estabfish the term of apprenticeship, the schedule of job processes in which the apprentice is to be provided practical work experience through his employment, and the amount of time the apprentice will be required to attend classes to receive instruc -tion in subjects related to his trade.
Responsibility for providing the related trade instruction rests in the local and State vocational schools. The joint apprenticeship committee usually is appointed by the school to act in an advisory capacity to it in developing the program of classroom instruction to be given the apprentices and to provide such continuing advisory service as is needed to assure a well rounded training program.
The procedures prescribe the manner in which written apprenticeship agreements are executed and registered ■with the State Apprenticeship Council; they outline the way in which apprentices will be supervised at work and at school and such other operating particulars as agreed upon by the employers and employees.
In the final apprenticeship system the continuing responsibility of the joint committee will be defined. Usually in the building trades the employer and employee groups give the joint committee a continuing operating responsibility. In the manufacturing industries the joint committee is given a continuing advisory responsibility; it exercises a review function rather than a direct supervisory function.
PLANT JOINT COMMITTEES
Where it is more practical the employer and his employees, if the latter have an organization, are encouraged to set up a plant joint committee to prepare in writing an apprenticeship system to define the conditions of employment and training for apprentices in the plant. Both types of committees usually make provision, especially where apprentices are
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employed in plants, for a full or part time supervisor of apprentices and describe his functions in relation to those of the Committee.
NO LOCAL JOINT COMMITTEE
Where employees in a plant do not have an organization or where the existing employee organization is not particularly concerned with the training of skilled workers, the employer establishes his own apprenticeship system and registers it with his State Council.
Since the State Council is made up of equal employer and labor representation and has agreed upon basic standards for the training of apprentices, its review and registration of the employers apprenticeship system is construed as meeting the basic policy of the national apprenticeship system.
REGISTRATION OF APPRENTICESHIP AGREEMENTS
Local apprenticeship systems provide for the registration of individual agreements between apprentices and their employers with the State Apprenticeship Council. This registration serves to safeguard the interests of the apprentices in several respects and at the same time establishes a national inventory of the total number of apprentices in training by trade classifications and the approximate number of apprentices in each period of the term of apprenticeship.
The review and registration of the individual agreements makes a public record of the fact that the apprentice is being employed and trained in an occupation and under standards recognized by industry and public agencies as being adequate to produce a qualified all-round skilled worker; it provides a record against which the apprentice and future employers in later years can establish facts regarding the worker’s training; it serves as a check against the hiring of an apprentice who is under contract to another employer or of the employment of a worker as an apprentice without adequate credit for his previous experience; and it provides the basis for the issuance by the State Council of Certificates of Completion of Apprenticeship.
PLACEMENT OF APPRENTICES
The local trade or plant written apprenticeship system specifies the way in which applicants will be selected and employed. Usually, there are more applicants for employment as apprentices than there are openings to be filled. First opportunities are in many instances offered the sons or daughters of workers in the particular industry providing they can meet the standards established for entrance into the trade as apprentices. Other apprentices are selected from the registers of the local office of the U. S. Employment Service. With respect to placement of applicants, close cooperation should be established between the local joint committee, the local vocational school and the local office of the U. S. Employment Service.
APPRENTICESHIP—FOR ADULTS AS WELL AS YOUTHS
While, by custom and tradition, apprentice training is associated with youth, it is actually a planned form of training having as the objective the development of all-round trade knowledge and skills.
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Economic conditions as well as the employment needs of particular industries have a significant influence in determining the age groups from which apprentices will be drawn.
In times of economic depression, when employment opportunities are limited, there is a far greater number of candidates for apprenticeships than there are training jobs to fill. The tendency under these circumstances is to set high standards which must be met by the candidate before he is considered for training. Likewise, the average age for beginning apprentices tends to move up to 18 or 19. And because many workers who later become apprentices will have entered the trades as helpers or in some such capacity, the average age for apprentices in many programs may be well over 20. Under these conditions apprentice training becomes virtually a training program for adults rather than for youth, and industry is relieved of the responsibility of developing the man and can concentrate on the development of skills.
As economic conditions improve and it is no longer difficult for workers in any age group to secure employment at good wages, there arises the problem of securing capable candidates for apprenticeship. Under these conditions the pendulum of selection swings again to favor those in the younger age groups.
APPRENTICESHIP AT WAR
Like all other institutions in our national fife, apprenticeship is being adapted to assist in winning victory and to prepare for beating our swords into plowshares.
In industries where it is essential to have all-round skilled workers to produce, service or maintain material or services necessary to the war effort, joint apprenticeship committees and employers are advised and assisted to set up apprenticeship programs to train adults who are not likely to be called to military duty.
In industries which are not in immediate need of the services of all-round skilled workers, joint committees and employers are being advised and assisted to set up apprenticeship programs for youths of 16 and 17 years of age.
APPRENTICEABLE TRADES
A list of apprenticeable trades appears on the next page. It is based upon earlier fists published by the Apprentice-Training Service, the U. S. Employment Service, and the Civil Service Commission. It is, however, neither comprehensive nor final.
Care should be exercised in using this list, because apprenticeability is determined not by the name given to the occupation, but by the schedule of work processes which is learned in that occupation. Trades are listed on the assumption that the work processes covered are adequate to develop all-round skilled workers.
The number of years’ training recorded next to each trade name represents, so far as can be determined, the period of training customarily required. There are variations in views and practices with respect to the term of training. There is a growing tendency to broaden the schedule of training and to provide better supervision and instruction.
This list is tentative. Changes will be made as evidence is found to support additions or to warrant deletions.
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Trade	Years
Airplane mechanic................. 2—4
Artificial-limb maker............... 4
Asbestos worker..................... 4
Automotive mechanic................3—4
Baker............................... 3
Barber.............................. 3
Bookbinder........................ 2—4
Blacksmith.......................... 4
Boatbuilder (small wooden).......... 4
Boilermaker.......................   4
Brace maker, general................ 4
Brickmason or bricklayer............ 3
Business-machine mecnanic........... 2
Butcher.......... .. ............... 3
Cabinetmaker.......................  4
Carmen, railroad...................  4
Carpenter........................... 4
Carpenter, ship..................... 4
Cement finisher. ................... 2
Chef or cook........................ 3
Compositor or printer............. 5—6
Coppersmith......................... 4
Coremaker........................... 4
Cosmetician......................... 2
Dental technician................. 3—4
Designer, die....................... 4
Designer, tool...................... 4
Diamond sawyer...................... 2
Diamond lopper ..................... 2
Diamond brilliandeerer ............. 2
Die maker .................'........ 4
Die sinker.......................... 7
Draftsman........................... 3
Dressmaker (custom)................. 2
Electrician: aircraft......................... 4—5
construction...................... 4—5
industrial......................   4—5
maintenance......................  4—5
lineman........................... 4—5
Electroplater....................  3—4
Elevator mechanic................... 4
Engineer, wood treating. . . . •.... 3
Engraver..........................   5
Glass blower (nonmechanical)......2—3
Glazier............................. 3
Glove cutter, table................. 3
Goldsmith........................... 4
Instrument maker.................... 4
Instrument mechanic................. 4
Iron worker, structural............. 2
Iron worker, ornamental............. 4
Jeweler....................i......	4
Jig builder......................... 4
Joiner.............................. 4
Trade	Years
Lather, metal...................... 2
Lather, wood....................... 2
Lead burner........................... 4
Lens grinder.......................  3—4
Linoleum, carpet and soft tile layer. . 3—4
Loom fixer.......................... 3—4
Machinist: aircraft............................. 4
automotive. . . ....................   4
marine................................ 4
railroad. ................,........... 4
shipyard.............................. 4
Meat cutter........................... 3
Mechanic maintenance.................3—4
Millman............. i............. 3—4
Millwright............................ 4
Model maker, jewelry, aircraft, etc. .	4
Molder................................ 4
Mold maker, jewelry................... 4
Motor repairmen, electric........... 3—4
Operating and stationary engineer. . 2—4
Painter............................... 3
Paperhanger..........................  3
Patternmaker: metal-wood.............. 5
Pipefitter.......................... 4—5
Plasterer............................. 3
Plumber............................. 4—5
Pressman, printing.................... 5
Radio repair and service mechanic. . . 2—3
Refrigerator mechanic............... 3—4
Rigger.............................. 2—3
Sewing machine mechanic: (garment industry)................. 2—3
Sheet metal worker: aircraft............................. 4
automotive............................ 4
construction.......................... 4
industrial..........................   4
Shipfitter...........................  4
Shipwright............................ 4
Ship loftsman......................... 4
Shipyard rigger..................... 2—3
Silversmith........................... 4
Silverware polisher................. 3—4
Spinner, metal...................... 3—4
Steamfitter......................... 4—5
Stonemason............................ 3
Stone setter, jewelry................3—4
Tailor................................ 4
Terrazzo and mosaic worker.......... 3-4
Tile layer............................ 3
Tool and die maker.................... 4
Turner, roll.......................... 4
Upholsterer and trimmer............. 3—4
W atchmaker........................  3—4
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STATE APPRENTICESHIP AGENCIES
*Arizona Apprenticeship Council, Phoenix, Ariz.
*Arkansas Apprenticeship Council, Little Rock, Ark.
*California Apprenticeship Council, San Francisco, Calif.
Connecticut Apprenticeship Council, Hartford, Conn.
Florida Apprenticeship Council, Tallahassee, Fla.
Iowa Apprenticeship Council, Des Moines, Iowa.
Kansas Apprenticeship Council, Topeka, Kans.
*Kentucky Apprenticeship Council, Covington, Ky.
*Louisiana Apprenticeship Council, Baton Rouge, La.
*Maine Apprenticeship Council, Augusta, Maine.
*Massachusetts State Commission on Apprentice Training, Boston, Mass.
*Minnesota Apprenticeship Council, St. Paul, Minn.
*Montana Apprenticeship Council Helena, Mont.
*Nevada Apprenticeship Council, Carson City, Nev.
New Hampshire Apprenticeship Council, Manchester, N. H.
New Mexico Apprenticeship Council, Albuquerque, N/Mex.
*New York State Apprenticeship Council, New York, N. Y.
*North Carolina Apprenticeship Council, Raleigh, N.C.
Ohio Apprenticeship Council, Columbus, Ohio.
*Oregon Apprenticeship Council, Salem, Oreg.
Pennsylvania Apprenticeship Council, Harrisburg, Pa.
Rhode Island Apprenticeship Council, Providence, R. I.
Vermont Apprenticeship Council, Montpelier, Vt.
*Virginia Apprenticeship Council, Richmond, Va.
* Washington	Apprenticeship Council,
Seattle, Wash.
*Wisconsin Industrial Commission, Apprenticeship Division, Madison, Wis.
*Hawaii Apprenticeship Council, Honolulu, Hawaii.
*State apprenticeship law enacted.
MEMBERSHIP OF THE FEDERAL COMMITTEE ON APPRENTICESHIP
William L. Batt, President, S. K. F. Industries, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa. (On loan to War Production Board, Washington, D. C.)
C. R. Dooley, Manager of Industrial Relations, Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., 26 Broadway, New York, N. Y. (On loan to War Manpower Commission, Washington, D. C.)
Clara M. Beyer, Assistant Director, Division of Labor Standards, U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, D. C.
Clinton Golden, Assistant to the President, Steel Workers Organizing Committee, Commonwealth Building, Pittsburgh, Pa. (On loan to War Manpower Commission.)
John P. Frey, President, Metal Trades Department, American Federation of Labor, Ninth Street & Vermont Place, Washington, D. C.
Layton S. Hawkins, Chief, Trade and Industrial Education, U. S. Office of Education, Federal Security Agency, Washington, D. C.
Executive Secretary: William F. Patterson, Director, Apprentice-Training Service, War Manpower Commission, Washington, D. C.
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REGIONAL OFFICES
For information regarding the services of field representatives of the Apprentice-Training Service in the establishment of apprenticeship systems and other types of in-plant training programs, communicate with the nearest regional office listed below:
Region I (Maine, N. H., Vt., Mass., R. I., Conn.)	Joseph E. Johnson, Supervisor Room 744, 55 Tremont St. Boston 8, Massachusetts
Region II (New York State)	John M. Marion, Supervisor Room 617, Old New York State Bldg. New York 16, New York
Region III (Pa., N. J., Del.)	Glenn H. Feller, Supervisor 811—812 Stephen Girard Bldg. Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania
Region IV (Md., Va., W. Va., N. C., D. C.)	Robert F. Handley, Supervisor Room 102, 433 Third St., NW. Washington 25, D. C.
Region V (Ohio, Mich., Ky.)	John E. Morley, Supervisor Room 674, Union Commerce Bldg. Cleveland 14, Ohio
Region VI (Ill., Ind., Wis.)	Edward C. Madsen, Supervisor 222 W. Adams Street Chicago 6, Illinois
Region VII (S. C., Ga., Tenn., Miss., Fla., Ala.)	J. M. Parmelee, Supervisor 622 Grand Theatre Bldg. Atlanta 3, Georgia
Region VIII (N. Dak., S. Dak., Nebr., Iowa, Minn.)	John F. Barrett, Supervisor Room 500, Midland Bank Bldg. Minneapolis 1, Minnesota
Region IX (Mo., Kans., Ark., Okla.)	Taylor F. Custer, Supervisor Room 1600, Fidelity Bldg. Kansas City 6, Missouri
Region X (La., Tex., N. Mex.)	Travis J. Lewis, Supervisor 6th Floor, Mercantile Bank Bldg. Dallas 2, Texas
Region XI (Mont., Idaho, Utah, Wyo., Colo.)	Ray A; Gross, Supervisor Room 614, Security Life Bldg. Denver 2, Colorado
Region XII (Oreg., Wash., Ariz., Nev., Calif.)	Broncel R. Mathis, Supervisor Room 701, Western Furniture Exchange and Merchandise Mart San Francisco 3, California
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OTHER PUBLICATIONS ISSUED BY APPRENTICE-TRAINING SERVICE
Copies of any of the following publications may be obtained by writing to the nearest regional office listed on opposite page or to Apprentice-Training Service, Bureau of Training, IC ar Manpower Commission, Washington 25, D. C.
THE WARTIME PROGRAM OF THE APPRENTICE-TRAINING SERVICE1 Describes how this agency has assisted industry in establishing both short-term and apprenticeship programs.
LOOKING AHEAD BY WAY OF APPRENTICESHIP: A brief, simple explanation of what apprentice training is and its advantages to young men in equipping them for careers as craftsmen in the skilled trades. Also explains the functions of joint management-labor apprenticeship committees, in setting up and administering apprenticeship programs, as well as the service rendered by Apprentice-Training Service and State apprenticeship agencies in assisting industry in establishing these programs.
APPRENTICE TRAINING FOR VETERANS: Brief, simple explanation of apprentice training as applied to veterans. Describes what apprenticeship is, career opportunities it offers, qualifications required, benefits of "G. I. Bill” to veterans who qualify, and where to apply for a job as an apprentice.
TRAINING APPRENTICES FOR WAR AND POST-WAR WORK: Review of apprenticeship system of Murray Corporation of America, Detroit, Michigan.
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, AND VICINITY MACHINIST APPRENTICESHIP STANDARDS: Apprenticeship provisions, apprenticeship agreement, record forms, official endorsements, etc.
APPRENTICE TRAINING—ANSWER TO THE MANPOWER SHORTAGE PROBLEM: How management and labor have collaborated in an apprenticeship Erogram to meet the continuous demand for skilled maintenance men required by a irge transportation company; and how older men than usually accepted for appre-ticeship have been employed to offset the shortage of young men available.
EVALUATING APPRENTICES: A 20-page technical booklet containing two articles, entitled respectively, "The Cost of Training and Value of Production of Apprentices,” and "Apprentice Record Cards.” Of special interest to training directors and others directly in charge of apprentice training. The first article explains how to determine the cost of training apprentices as compared with the value of their production while in training; and the second article explains how to record the skills acquired by apprentices during their training.
APPRENTICE TRAINING FOR AMERICA’S YOUTH: Stresses apprenticeship for 16- and 17-year-old boys who are needed to replace older workers who have joined the armed forces.
TRAINING AMERICA’S YOUTH FOR A POST-WAR CAREER: Review of activities of Apprentice-Training Service and State agencies in promoting apprentice training for under-draft-age youths to equip them for careers; with special emphasis on combination high-school and apprenticeship programs.
TRAINING TEAMWORK: How management and labor have worked together in joint in-plant training committees in developing and putting into operation apprenticeship, as well as short-term training programs; as exemplified in plants in four different industries.
APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM OF CHICAGO PATTERN MAKERS’ JOINT APPRENTICESHIP COMMITTEE: Detailed review of activities of committee.
TRAINING WOMEN FOR WAR WORK: Outlines 10 features of training programs for women, which have proved successful in war industries.
MEETING THE MANPOWER PROBLEM AT CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION, BEAVER, PA.: How the Beaver Plant of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation was able to replace, through a systematically organized training program, the many hundreds of workers who joined the armed forces, is explained in this 10-page, simply expressed bulletin. The program includes apprentice training to equip men for allround skilled work, in addition to shorter term systems and job instructor training
TRAINING PROGRAMS IN THE NONFERROUS METAL MINING INDUSTRY: Detailed technical study of training programs established by large mining companies in Arizona. Includes letters of endorsement by mining companies and labor organizations participating.
TRAINING TO MAKE SHIPS: Training program to build Landing-Ship-Tanks, adopted by Dravo Corporation in its shipyard at Neville Island, Pa.
TRAINING NEW WORKERS QUICKLY IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY: Over-all training system, short-term, and apprenticeship, in textile mills in South.
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1945