Apprenticeships are very popular, oftentimes overly popular, for many of the trades.This comment has no connection to reality.

Why? Afaik, apprentices are employees, with all the benefits that that entails.

It’s easy to go to healthcare.gov and buy health insurance without an employer.You just don’t get to buy it with pre tax income, and most employers don’t or can’t pay enough for people to afford the premiums and out of pocket maximums. If you are young and without kids and assets to seize, you might as well ignore health insurance.

Hard to have apprenticeships when you&#x27;re dependent on your employer for health care

AFAIK students are routed into apprenticeship programs quite early in Germany and some other European countries, early enough that American sensibilities find the idea off-putting.The idea that your future career outlook is basically determined by the time you’re a young teenager is seen as unnecessarily limiting.In practice there are plenty of apprenticeships for the trades, but they start in high school or later and are functionally socially invisible to people that go to college. Probably because there is more economic segregation in the US than in most European cities.

Maybe sometimes they stay in the family? Like if the father is in a relatively special trade then the son continues when the father retires? Or is it a myth?

Since Sputnik everyone was told to go to college or you&#x27;re a loser, that peaked in the 2010s and finally busted with Covid, people are just laying flat. Kids put in tons of work, all of the opportunities never materialized.Its a Structural employment mismatch. We got a preview in 2008 with all the layoffs that became the event that pushed people out of the workforce for the rest of their lives. And there is no retraining programs, because leadership doesn&#x27;t care. K-type recovery is fine for themStem and service jobs could have easily been filled, but leadership would rather ship those overseas.

we just call it &quot;unpaid interns&quot;

Was wondering and discussing with somebody yesterday why USA does not have a strong apprenticeship culture like Europe does.

Interesting, I&#x27;ve been considering going the other direction, finances permitting, and having an artist-in-residence or student artist visit my ceramic studio for a few weeks or months in the summer. I feel like it&#x27;s uncommon to be given access to a reasonable studio, materials, room and board, and a stipend.

This looks awesome. I’m the ideal customer for this and am delighted it exists.

Vacation With An Artist – Mini-Apprenticeships with Artists in Their Studios