Apprenticeship vs Traineeship
Education is essential for securing a livelihood in today’s fast-paced world. However, when it comes to career development, education involves various stages. Apprenticeship and traineeship are two of these stages, and sometimes it can be challenging to differentiate between these various layers of education.
What is Apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship can be defined as a training system where an individual receives structured competency in a basic set of skills. When participating in an apprenticeship, those interested in pursuing a specific trade or career follow a strict training program that allows them to acquire the skills required to prepare themselves for their desired trade or career. Usually used in building careers, most of the training takes place while the apprentices are working for an employer who helps them learn their trade better in exchange for their labor for an agreed-upon period. Upon successful completion of an apprenticeship, an individual is considered a qualified professional.
Some of the most recognized professions that use apprenticeship as a method of education are law, accounting, culinary arts, and chartered engineering. Not only in skilled trades, but apprenticeships are also used in higher education, as the modern concept of the internship is quite similar to the idea of apprenticeship. Among them are graduate students in the role of apprentices, post-doctoral fellows as journeymen, and professors as masters.
What is a Traineeship?
A traineeship usually involves an individual being trained for the job role they have been hired for. Typically, these are vocational areas such as information technology, office administration, hospitality, and more. A trainee can be offered a training period that may last from 2-24 months, during which the trainee receives a salary and guidance from the employer. The trainee may also usually expect full-time employment in the company once the traineeship is over. A traineeship is also useful in evaluating the person recruited to a firm or a company, during which an official decision may be made regarding whether the person can be hired on a permanent basis or not. It is used as an insurance measure by most companies.
Traineeships are mostly offered for vocational areas such as information technology and hospitality, among others. Trainee programs usually combine theoretical knowledge and practice and involve the trainee learning about the company from the ground up and building contacts in the process.
What is the difference between Apprenticeship and Traineeship?
Key Takeaways
- The difference between apprenticeship and traineeship may depend solely on the jurisdiction under which they operate. Hence the differences may vary from country to country.
- An apprenticeship is offered for traditional trade-oriented occupations. A traineeship is offered for service-oriented vocational areas.
- Usually, an apprenticeship may take around 3-4 years to complete. A traineeship may take a relatively shorter time period which may be between 1-2 years to complete.
- Upon completion of a traineeship, the trainee will mostly be offered a full-time occupation at the company. The apprentice usually receives a certification.
- The main objective of a traineeship is for the employer to evaluate an employee. The purpose of an apprenticeship is for the apprentice to gain practical and theoretical knowledge of the trade, gain exposure, and obtain contacts.
