Meaning & use
apprenticeship
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A fixed period during which someone learns a skilled job by working for an experienced person and often studying part-time.
Grammar: Takes a plural, and the usual verbs are do, start, complete: she is doing an apprenticeship.
Patterns
- an apprenticeship in something
- an apprenticeship with someone
He began an apprenticeship in plumbing at sixteen.
She completed a four-year apprenticeship with a local bakery.
Many companies now offer apprenticeships instead of university places.
nouncountable or uncountablefigurative
The period or experience of learning something from a more experienced person, in any field.
Grammar: Often used figuratively: serve an apprenticeship.
Patterns
- serve an apprenticeship
The young chef served a long apprenticeship in the kitchens of Paris.
Politics was her apprenticeship for the top job.
Writers often spend years in an unpaid apprenticeship before publishing.
Word forms
| plural | apprenticeships |
|---|
Common combinations
- serve an apprenticeship
- He served his apprenticeship under a master carpenter.
- complete an apprenticeship
- After she completed her apprenticeship, she opened her own salon.
- apprenticeship scheme
- The government launched an apprenticeship scheme for young workers.
- degree apprenticeship
- A degree apprenticeship lets you earn while you study.
- start an apprenticeship
- I will start an apprenticeship as an electrician in September.
Synonyms and how they differ
- traineeship
- Traineeship is a broader, often shorter word, while an apprenticeship usually leads to a formal trade qualification.
- internship
- An internship is usually short and tied to office or professional work, whereas an apprenticeship is long and trade-based.
- training
- Training is a general word for learning skills, while apprenticeship means learning through paid work with an expert.
Word family
- apprentice noun
- a person learning a trade
- apprentice verb
- to place someone as a learner under a skilled worker
- apprenticed adjective
- working as an apprentice
- journeyman noun
- a trained worker who has finished an apprenticeship
Commonly confused: apprenticeship or internship?
apprenticeship vs internship
An internship is typically short and aimed at gaining experience, while an apprenticeship is a long, structured route to a trade.
Practice
After a three-year ______, Maria qualified as a fully trained electrician.
Choose one answer.
An apprenticeship is a long period of paid training in a trade. Internship is shorter and usually not trade-based; scholarship and friendship do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “apprenticeship”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.