apprenticeship

American  

[uh-pren-tis-ship] / əˈprɛn tɪsˌʃɪp /

noun

• apprenticeships
  plural

1. a program or position in which someone learns a trade by working under a certified expert.

   The course provides students with a good base for securing apprenticeships in the plumbing and gasfitting industries.

2. the state or position of any learner or novice.

   His apprenticeship in political struggle was gained in the Spanish Civil War.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• apprenticeships
  plural

Etymology

Origin of apprenticeship

apprentice ( def. ) + -ship ( def. )

Explanation

Apprenticeship is a kind of job training that involves following and studying a master of the trade on the job instead of in school. Carpenters, masons, doctors, and many other professionals often learn their trade through apprenticeship. The word apprenticeship comes from the Old French aprentiz meaning "someone learning" and the Anglian suffix -scip, meaning "state, condition of being." An apprenticeship is when someone is in a state or condition of learning from a master in a field. Some professions even have apprenticeship programs like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers where you can be assigned to apprentice, or study under a professional electrician.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

apprenticeship apprenticeships

Last week, analysis by the BBC found that competition for degree apprenticeships in England through the government's "find an apprenticeship" service, for example, had quadrupled over the past three years.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Khan’s law firm, Eversheds Sutherland, funded her law-school training as part of the apprenticeship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

PwC has over 1,000 apprenticeship positions each year in consulting, tax, technology and accounting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

The £2,000 tax-free retention bonus would be paid to workers who "show loyalty" by staying with the business that trained them for at least two years after they complete their apprenticeship, said Braverman.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

I had just turned thirteen and become bar mitzvah when I started my apprenticeship at the Yiddish newspaper in Kielce.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

The growth of AI is likely to boost demand in apprenticeships as young people lose confidence in their career prospects.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

While the number of high-school graduates in the U.S. who choose apprenticeships instead of college is rising, programs are mostly focused on blue-collar roles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Daniel Edwards, 21, applied for 11 apprenticeships before securing an engineering degree apprenticeship.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Degree apprenticeships might look to some like an attractive alternative, but the Freedom of Information data obtained by the BBC suggests they are hard to come by.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

When I polled some accomplished writers about which style manuals they had con- sulted during their apprenticeships, the most common answer I got was “none.”

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• culture
• discipline
• improvement
• information
• learning
• literacy
• scholarship
• schooling
• science
• study
• teaching
• training