Apricot men were called master craftsmen. Each master craftsman had
several apprentices working for him. The apprentices came to the master
craftsman when they were boys of twelve or fourteen. They agreed to stay
with the master craftsman for a period of seven years, during which he
would teach them his trade. The apprentices lived with the master
craftsman and were fed by him, but did not receive any wages.
Apricot men were called master craftsmen. Each master craftsman had several apprentices working for him. The apprentices came to the master craftsman when they were boys of twelve or fourteen. They agreed to stay with the master craftsman for a period of seven years, during which he would teach them his trade. The apprentices lived with the master craftsman and were fed by him, but did not receive any wages. They started out by doing errands and cleaning up around the shop. Little by little they learned the skills of the craft. At the end of seven years, an apprentice became a journeyman. After several years of work, a journeyman might become a master craftsman himself. A journeyman might travel around, getting work where he could find it.
The name "journeyman," however, does not come from the worker's travels. The name comes from the French word jour, meaning "day." Since a journeyman worked by the day, you can see how the word jour gave him his name. The age of machinery began about a hundred years ago. It brought an end to the system of making things by skilled master craftsmen. Finally, it almost ended the need for apprentices in each trade or craft. There are still some apprentices, but very few. As more and more things were made in factories, there was less and less need for long periods of training for the workers. Today, many young people learn a trade or skill in school or college. They get paying jobs after that. We still call some learners apprentices, however. Some businesses give what is called "onthe- job training." Those who receive this training are really apprentices, even though they get paid while learning.
