R60 Apprenticeship Recommendation, 1939

The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its Twenty-fifth Session on 8 June 1939, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to apprenticeship, which is included in the first item on the agenda of the Session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of a Recommendation,

adopts this twenty-eighth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty-nine, the following Recommendation, which may be cited as the Apprenticeship Recommendation, 1939:

The Conference,

Having adopted the Vocational Training Recommendation, 1939, which enumerates the principles and methods which should be applied with regard to the organisation of such training;

Considering that of the various methods of vocational training, apprenticeship raises special problems, particularly because it is given in undertakings and involves contractual relations between master and apprentice;

Considering that the efficacy of apprenticeship largely depends on the satisfactory definition and observance of the conditions governing apprenticeship and, in particular, of those relating to the mutual rights and obligations of master and apprentice;

Recommends that each Member should take into consideration the following principles and rules:

1. For the purpose of the present Recommendation the expression apprenticeship means any system by which an employer undertakes by contract to employ a young person and to train him or have him trained systematically for a trade for a period the duration of which has been fixed in advance and in the course of which the apprentice is bound to work in the employer's service.
2. 1. Measures should be taken to make apprenticeship as effective as possible in trades in which this system of training seems necessary. These trades should be designated in each country, having regard to the degree of skill and the length of the period of practical training required.
   2. Subject to there being sufficient co-ordination to guarantee uniformity in the degree of skill required and in the methods and conditions of apprenticeship within each trade throughout the country, the measures referred to in the preceding subparagraph may be taken by laws or regulations, or by decisions of public bodies entrusted with the control of apprenticeship, or in virtue of collective agreements, or by a combination of the above methods.
3. 1. The measures referred in the preceding Paragraph should make provision in respect of:
      1. the technical and other qualifications required of employers in order that they may take and train apprentices;
      2. the conditions governing the entry of young persons into apprenticeship; and
      3. the mutual rights and obligations of master and apprentice.
   2. In making such provision consideration should be given more particularly to the following principles:
      1. An employer taking apprentices should either himself be qualified to give adequate training or be in a position to provide such training by some other person in his service with the necessary qualifications, and the undertaking in which the training is to be given should be such as will permit of the apprentice securing a proper training in the trade to be learnt.
      2. Young persons should not be allowed to enter into apprenticeship until they have reached a fixed age, which should not be below the age at which school attendance ceases to be compulsory.
      3. Where the minimum standard of general education required for entry into apprenticeship is higher than that normally attained at the end of the period of compulsory school attendance, this minimum standard should be fixed with due regard to the variations in requirements of different trades.
      4. Entry into apprenticeship should in every case be subject to a medical examination, and where the trade in view calls for special physical qualities or mental aptitudes these should be specified and tested by special tests.
      5. Provision should be made for the registration of apprentices with appropriate bodies and, where necessary, for the control of their number.
      6. Arrangements should be made to facilitate the transfer of an apprentice from one employer to another in cases where transfer appears necessary or desirable in order to avoid interruption of the apprenticeship or to complete the training of the apprentice or for some other reason.
      7. The duration of apprenticeship, including that of the probationary period, should be determined in advance, any prior training undergone by the apprentice in a technical or vocational school being duly taken into account.
      8. Provision should be made for the holding of examinations of apprentices on the expiry of the period of apprenticeship and, where necessary, in the course of apprenticeship, for determining the methods of organising such examinations, and for the issue of certificates based on the results thereof. The qualifications required in such examinations for any given trade should be uniformly fixed, and the certificates issued as a result of such examinations should be recognised throughout the country.
      9. Supervision should be established over apprenticeship, particularly with a view to ensuring that the rules governing apprenticeship are observed, that the training given is satisfactory and that there is reasonable uniformity in the conditions of apprenticeship.
      10. Any requirements of form to be complied with by the contract of apprenticeship and the terms to be contained or implied in it should be specified, as for instance by the drawing up of a standard contract, and the procedure for the registration of contracts with the bodies referred to under (e) above should be determined.
4. 1. Provision should be made in the contract of apprenticeship as to how any remuneration in cash or otherwise due to the apprentice should be determined and as to the scale of increase in remuneration during the course of the apprenticeship.
   2. Where there are no laws or regulations upon the subject, or the laws or regulations do not apply to apprentices, provision should also be made in the contract of apprenticeship in respect of:
      1. the remuneration referred to in subparagraph (1) above during sickness; and
      2. holidays with pay.
5. 1. It would be desirable that the parties concerned in apprenticeship and more particularly the organisations of employers and workers should collaborate with the official bodies responsible for the supervision of apprenticeship.
   2. Close collaboration should be maintained between the bodies responsible for the supervision of apprenticeship and the general and vocational education authorities, vocational guidance institutions, public employment exchanges and labour inspection authorities.
6. This Recommendation does not apply to the apprenticeship of seamen.

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