Apprenticeship as a vocational pathway

An apprenticeship is a structured system of training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession through on-the-job training, generally combined with study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships usually involve a master craftsperson teaching a learner over several years, with skills and knowledge built up through graded tasks. In many African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria, the traditional informal apprenticeship system is the dominant route by which young people enter trades such as tailoring, mechanics, carpentry, electrical work, hairdressing and food preparation. Formal apprenticeship programmes regulated by national qualification frameworks (for example, CTVET in Ghana) increasingly accompany the traditional model.