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AMERICAN SHIPYARD APPRENTICESHIPS, 



In other yards apprentices are credited with class work, two hours on their apprentice- 

 ship for each hour of classroom work. This is for class work held on the apprentice's time, 

 from four o'clock to six p. m. On completion of the course an additional bonus of one hour 

 per week is allowed for good attendance and faithful application. 



Another company allows credit for evening school and study courses, for time equiva- 

 lent to the time spent in school. This company defrays the tuition of the boys at the school 

 attended. 



All of these credits are given as an incentive to better work and greater efforts on the 

 part of the apprentices. 



Requirements for Apprenticeship. — The applicant must be between the ages of sixteen 

 and twenty years, although application may be filed twelve months prior to reaching his en- 

 trance age. A written statement from two competent persons certifying to the good moral 

 character and habits of the candidate must be presented at the time of filing application. The 

 applicant is not finally accepted as an apprentice until after a six-month probation period. 

 At the end of the probation time a written report and recommendation by the foreman and 

 leading man is made, and the boy's suitability and qualifications for apprenticeship are acted 

 upon by the supervisor of apprentices or by an official or committee in charge of the matter. 



Preference is given to applicants from families of the company's employees and to those 

 who have made the best progress in the public schools. 



Qualifications necessary are stated by various yards thus: average alertness, a good 

 grammar school education, ability to read and write, familiarity with arithmetical processes, 

 satisfactory personal presence, of such stature as to fit them for the trade selected, each 

 candidate required to pass a physical examination by the company's surgeon before entering 

 the apprenticeship and a similar examination annually thereafter during the apprenticeship. 

 To apprentices who have graduated from manual training schools, high schools or similar 

 institutions or who have special qualifications, the company may allow a reasonable time 

 credit. Apprentices entering the drawing rooms shall have had at least two years of high 

 school work. 



Number of Apprentices in the Trades. — No definite rule has been generally adopted as 

 to the number of apprentices in the various shipyard trades. This is largely accounted for 

 by the uncertainty of the work whereby the number of employees has varied greatly due to 

 trade conditions and requirements for naval and merchant work. In slack times it is best 

 to retain as many apprentices as possible, only weeding out those least desirable. 



One or two companies designate the number of apprentices in each department, as, for 



