apprenticeship

apprenticeship — noun

1. the months or years during which a young person learns a skilled trade by workin

1.nounB2
Definition

the months or years during which a young person learns a skilled trade by working with an experienced worker, usually for low pay and on a fixed contract.

Example

Eitan served a four-year apprenticeship with a master carpenter in Vienna.

serve a [length] apprenticeship with [person]

Paloma completed her plumbing apprenticeship last spring and now runs her own small business.

complete a [trade] apprenticeship

Common collocations
  • serve an apprenticeship
  • complete an apprenticeship
  • four-year apprenticeship
  • plumbing apprenticeship
  • electrical apprenticeship
  • during one's apprenticeship
Synonyms
  • traineeship

    broader — covers office and service jobs, not just skilled trades.

  • internship

    usually shorter and white-collar; often unpaid or for academic credit.

Grammar Patterns

apprenticeship in [trade]

serve an apprenticeship

complete an apprenticeship

Usage Note

Often used with 'serve' or 'complete' as the typical verb partner; the length (two-year, four-year) and the trade (plumbing, electrical, carpentry) commonly appear as modifiers.

Common Mistakes

She made an apprenticeship at the hotel.
She did an apprenticeship at the hotel.
use 'do', 'serve', or 'complete', not 'make'.
He finished his apprentice last year.
He finished his apprenticeship last year.
'apprentice' is the person; 'apprenticeship' is the training period.

2. a paid trainee post offered by a company or workshop, in which the holder learns

2.nounB2
Definition

a paid trainee post offered by a company or workshop, in which the holder learns a craft from skilled staff while doing real work on the job.

Example

Ravi was offered an apprenticeship at the shipyard straight after his final school exams.

be offered an apprenticeship at [company]

Priya turned down a place at Oxford to take up an apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce in Derby.

take up an apprenticeship with [employer]

Common collocations
  • offer an apprenticeship
  • apply for an apprenticeship
  • take up an apprenticeship
  • fund an apprenticeship
  • electrical apprenticeship
  • an apprenticeship at [company]
Synonyms
  • traineeship

    broader, used for non-trade roles like retail or admin.

  • internship

    shorter, typically unpaid or stipend-based, often student-focused.

Grammar Patterns

offer/get/take up an apprenticeship

an apprenticeship at [company]

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names the post itself (something you can be offered, apply for, or fund), whereas sense 1 names the span of time spent learning.

Common Mistakes

He got a job of apprenticeship at the garage.
He got an apprenticeship at the garage.
'apprenticeship' already means the trainee post; no need for 'job of'.

Word family

  • apprentice
    nounB2
  • apprentice
    verbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three name a structured period of on-the-job learning, but they differ in trade, length, and pay. 'Apprenticeship' typically lasts two to four years and is the standard route into skilled manual or technical trades — plumbing, carpentry, welding, hairdressing — with a binding contract and a recognised qualification at the end. 'Internship' is much shorter (a few weeks to a year), often unpaid or paid only with a small stipend, and is associated with white-collar and student settings: a law firm, a museum, a tech start-up. 'Traineeship' sits in between: paid, structured, but broader in scope and shorter than an apprenticeship, common in retail or administration. Compare: 'a four-year carpentry apprenticeship', 'a summer internship at a magazine', 'a six-month traineeship in customer service'.

apprenticeship ↗internship ↗traineeship

Common collocations

Nouns

  • plumbing apprenticeship
  • electrical apprenticeship
  • carpentry apprenticeship
  • engineering apprenticeship

Phrases

  • serve an apprenticeship
  • complete an apprenticeship
  • do an apprenticeship
  • offer an apprenticeship
  • take up an apprenticeship

Prepositions

  • apprenticeship in
  • apprenticeship at
  • apprenticeship with

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The English noun grew out of the older word 'apprentice' — a young learner bound to a master craftsman — by adding the suffix '-ship', which forms nouns naming a state, role, or condition (compare 'friendship', 'membership'). 'Apprentice' itself reached English from Old French 'aprentis', built on the Latin verb 'apprehendere' meaning to grasp or take hold of, here in the sense of taking hold of knowledge. The compound 'apprenticeship' is recorded in English from the early 1600s, when guild-based training contracts were a common path into a trade.