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# Apprenticeships

## Definition

A system where young workers serve a master for a fixed term (historically seven years) to learn a trade, during which the apprentice's labour belongs to the master while the master provides training, maintenance, and sometimes a small wage, creating barriers to entry in certain trades.

## Source Chapter

Book I, Chapter 10

## Context

Smith critically examines the institution of apprenticeships as a means by which the policy of Europe creates inequalities in labour markets. He argues that long apprenticeships are unnecessary, often counterproductive, and serve primarily to restrict competition and maintain higher wages for established craftsmen at the expense of both apprentices and the public.

## Economic Domain

Regulation

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