Trends In My Field
See page 12-13 for the article.
The discussion over the ratio of apprentice to journeymen employees has been an ongoing one since I entered the trade. It was originally implemented to prevent employers from hiring an abundance of apprentices (cheap labor), and keeping the journeyman to a minimum(expensive labor). Keeping the ratio at 4:1, four journeymen for every one apprentice, allows the apprentice to be sufficiently trained. With a larger amount of experienced journeyman in each shop, or in the field, it means more knowledge to be passed on, and an opportunity for more one on one training. It also prevents the work force from being flooded with cheap labour, which would mean increased class sizes, resulting in less effective in school training.