The principles of apprentice training with special reference to the engineering industry

Front matter

THE PklN('[M

1.1 [ n-M/^O r'p

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE

PART I. The Economic Aspect

CHAP.

I. Classification of Industrial Workers . . 3

Manual and non-manual workers — The labourer — The repetition worker— The craftsman — Distinction between trade and technical employment.

II. Economic Aspect of the Problem . . .14

The worker — The employer — The community — The national point of view.

PART II. Primary Education

III. Characteristics Required by Artisan Workers 23

Need for co-operation between educationists and employers — Heredity and environment^ — Opposing educational theories — Individual characteristics — Specific artisan characteristics.

xii CONTENTS

CHAP. PAOE

IV. Existing Education in its Relation to Industry 35

Primary education — Kindergarten, formative and adolescent periods— Manual training— Central and higher elementary schools — How far primary education develops artisan characteristics — Evening continuation schools — Technical education — Junior technical schools — Trade schools — Continuation education in the United States — Gary plan.

V. Readjustment of Education to meet Industrial

Needs 50

Weakness of existing education — Utilitarian and cultural aims — Education for social efficiency — The educational ladder— Suggestions regarding primary education — Disadvantages of present attempts at pre-vocational education — The failure of the evening continuation school — Apprentice day-classes — Readjustment.

PART III. Vocational Selection

VI. Vocational Selection under Present Conditions 67

The boy— The parent— The school— The juvenile employment bureau.

VII. Selection by the Employer .... 75

Personal interview — References from sponsors — Probation— Employers and education authorities — Cost of undiscriminating engagement of labour.

VIII. Systematic Methods of Selection ... 81 Industrial surveys — General intelligence — Trial on probation — Psychological methods — Physiological methods.

CONTENTS xiii

PART IV. Apprentice Training

CHAP. PAGE

IX. Existing Methods of Industrial Training . 97

England — Scotland — United States — Germany — German methods in Great Britain — France — Switzerland — Norway — The control of trade education.

X. Apprenticeship 117

Technical apprenticeship — Trade apprenticeship — Modern conditions.

XI. The Real Problem of Industrial Training . 126

Nature of apprentice training — Manipulative skill — How it can be acquired — Auxiliary training shops — Nature of trade instruction — Advantages of apprentice training.

XII. A Modern Example of Apprentice Training . 141

A modern trade school — Conditions of admission — Attitude of apprentices — Attitude of the men in the workshops — Lecturers — Relation to outside authorities — Justification — Cost of the scheme — Future progress — Shop training.

Conclusion 158

Appendix I. Syllabuses of Classes held at the British Westinghouse Co.'s Apprentice School 169

Appendix II. Syllabuses of Classes held at Siemens

& Halske's Works School . .194

Appendix III. Bibliography 196

Index 199

Chapter I. Classification Of Industrial Workers

The development of an industry takes place in several more or less clearly defined stages. Carried on originally in primitive fashion in the homes of the workers themselves, industrial processes readily tend towards a local concentration as soon as labour-saving devices are introduced at some place specially favoured by the presence of raw materials, power, and transport facilities. This concentration of a process or series of related processes necessitates the existence of an organization by means of which the whole may be made to work smoothly. Finally, the industry develops to the, stage when, from the working out of theory and practice, a science is evolved, the application of which supersedes the older empirical methods, and demands the employment of scientifically educated leaders and suitably trained workmen to co-operate in productive effort. In the past it has been possible, in fact quite usual, for men possessing sound common sense and business capacity, although devoid of scientific training, to rise to positions of great importance in controlling this organization. To-day the engineering industry has reached a stage of transition between the penultimate and final stages. Scientific theory is well established and has been extensively applied to practice. The need for fully trained leaders is being generally felt, although there is a great uncertainty regarding the training required for workmen.

Manual and Non-Manual Workers. — All workers in industry may be classed broadly either as manual workers or as non-manual workers ; the former includes all workmen, the latter comprises staff officers and supervisors generally, who form the group of technically employed men, technical training being essential to the effective discharge of their duties.

Non-Manual Workers. — The field of technical employment in an engineering works is covered by the following groups : —

{a) Designers, leading draughtsmen, and testers.

{V) Technically trained salesmen.

(c) Works organizers, including works managers, shop supervisors, and industrial research engineers.

Adequate educational facilities exist to meet the needs of the first two, but, as yet, insufficient attention has been paid to the provision of suitable means for training staff" officers of the third group. The organization of engineering works in the past has been largely in the hands of men of broad practical experience but of little or no scientific training. The increasingly exacting requirements of modern works organization demand such training if eff"ective results are to be obtained.

Industrial progress in the past has been largely due to the efforts of isolated workers and inventors — often pursuing their investigations under disadvantageous conditions — and the improvements resulting from their efforts have ultimately become the common property of the industry. Since the progress of an industry depends upon a continual influx of such new knowledge and the application of new discoveries, this requirement becomes increasingly difficult to fulfil by the haphazard means heretofore adopted. Discerning manufacturers are be-

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS' CLASSIFICATION 5

ginning to appreciate the latent industrial possibilities of every scientific discovery and of the fields of science yet unexplored, and are endeavouring to undertake definite . and systematic researches with the aid of specially trained investigators. This work has become known as " industrial research," and the investigations which it comprises may be grouped under three heads, namely, those applied to the elimination of manufacturing troubles, with consequent increase in reliability of the product and improved manufacturing efficiency ; those directed to the improvement of materials, tools, and methods, which have a direct bearing on cheap production ; and investigations in pure science, which are conducted with confidence that their results will sooner or later be applied to industrial processes.

It is to this phase of industrial development that manufacturers have to look for one of their most powerful weapons in the competition for international markets, and it is significant that vast strides have already been made in this direction by German and American manufacturers.

Manual Workers. — Manual workers may also be separated into three main divisions : —

{a) The skilled workman or craftsman, such as a moulder, pattern-maker, fitter, turner, armature winder, etc.

((J) The " specialist " or repetition worker, utilizing automatic and semi-automatic machinery.

[d) The labourer.

Despite the revolutionary changes wrought in the industrial world by the introduction of machinery, there are still a large number of processes performed solely by manual labour. Since such processes require a greater degree of intelligence and skill than others, workers who are trained to follow them will continue to feel entitled either to higher remuneration or to other reward than that obtained in less exacting occupations, although the present disparity in wage rates between the so-called "skilled" and "unskilled" occupations is likely to become less marked as time goes on.

The Labourer. — The lowest grade of manual workers, the labouring class, includes, in general, the least intelligent of the industrial community. But this is by no means the case with all. Some of these have been " blind-alley " workers, others have moral failings, while a considerable number prefer the complete lack of responsibility which their grade of occupation affords. Further, it is extremely unfortunate that the inadequate means of selecting and directing juvenile workers to industry is responsible for the large number who find their ultimate level in the labouring class, but who may be fitted for better work, since every intelligent man whose lack of training compels him to follow that work is a probable centre of dissatisfaction, and a grave economic loss to the community.

The Specialist. — The class of labour referred to as " specialist " may include men or women ; in the case of the former, it is generally recruited from among those workers who have for some years after leaving school followed a form of employment offering no prospects, and who, at or about adult age, grasp the opportunity of obtaining work at a rate of wage required by an adult, not too far short of that of the craftsman, without having to undergo the training needed by the latter. In other cases, boys take up this work early after leaving school because of the relatively high wages obtained, being prepared to discount their prospects for the sake of the highest immediate return.

As a result of the existing shortage of male labour, the extension of automatic and semi-automatic production.

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS' CLASSIFICATION 7

and the splitting up of machining operations, enabling products to be handled in bulk in a series of sequent operations, the employment of women in engineering industries will be brought about on an extended scale. Those dexterous in one operation only will find a place, and with the movement will be introduced new industrial problems,' which are already giving grave concern to employers and labour leaders.

In many respects, women workers perform repetition operations with much less mental fatigue than men, and often prefer this work to that of a less monotonous but more responsible character. Moreover, recent experience in the employment of women for the manufacture of munitions indicates that women workers rapidly acquire manual dexterity of a limited order. In some cases men are able to carry out similar work involving a series of actions on an automatic machine without diminution in productive capacity over long periods of working. These facts suggest that there are some workers who are inherently fitted for this class of work from a mental and physical point of view, and hence selection should be carefully made with due regard to these factors.

The Craftsman. — The work of a skilled craftsman demands much wider experience, skill, and intelligence than either of the previous groups. It is customary for a boy who, after leaving school, wishes to become such a workman, to enter a works for an apprenticeship, which ends, in England, on the attainment of his majority, in the United States and Germany, usually about the age of eighteen. Generally he comes of artisan parents, and is above the average in respect of elementary education. For various reasons, however, formal engineering apprenticeship sealed by legal indentures has fallen into

1 See Section F, British Association, Manchester, 1915. Interim Report on Industrial Fatigue.

disuse, and is not likely to be revived. Frequently a simple verbal or written agreement is substituted, the employer retaining the right to discharge a boy who does not work satisfactorily, the youth tacitly retaining the right to leave if he should become dissatisfied with the working conditions. There is, however, no doubt that the decline of formal apprenticeship has been mainly responsible for the failure adequately to train sufficient skilled workers to supply the needs of industry, and this is rapidly producing a state of affairs which is inimical to the interests of any country the prosperity of which depends on its commerce. There is an urgent need for the introduction of a definite system of training for engineering workers, particularly of the skilled class. Apart from his value to himself and to the community as a workman, a skilled*man ig less likely to be out of employment than any other class of worker ; his long training gives him a sturdier character and consequently makes him a better member of the community.

Distinction between Trade and Technical Employment. — It is characteristic of our lack of appreciation of the changes taking place in the industrial world, that misunderstanding and confusion should still exist regarding the nature and scope of non-manual or technical employment, and the way in which it differs from manual or trade employment. Although there is a wide difference in function between those employed in the two grades, it is still popularly supposed that the training found necessary for the one is suitable for the other. Clear recognition should be given to the fact that in the higher branches of work engineering is a profession demanding a training at least as long as, or longer than, and quite as costly as that required for any other profession, such as law or medicine. It is desirable for any man who wishes to become a professional engineer to follow a sound

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS' CLASSIFICATION 9

secondary education with a university course in a faculty of applied science for a period of three or four years. Subsequently a practical course in an actual works, occupying a further two or three years, is essential ; then professional work may be commenced. No man who omits the practical training has any likelihood of succeeding as an engineer, and in order to afford as wide a range of experience in commercial practice as possible, a special course for this should be arranged. On the other hand, the would-be craftsman invariably enters a works after leaving the primary ^ school, and acquires manipulative skill during a long apprenticeship of six or seven years. While he should know something of the tools and materials with which he works, his knowledge will naturally not have the depth and the mathematical basis of that of a technically educated man, and in some respects it will be different. The fact that it was once possible, when engineering science did not exist, for workers not trained scientifically to become leaders in the industry is responsible for the popular confusion between the engineer and craftsman. It is of the utmost importance that all workers with sufficient ability should be able to pass from one grade to the other, but as time goes on it will become increasingly difficult to do so, owing to the increasing complexity of scientific training, which will necessitate special preparation before actual entry into industrial work. The necessary upward mobility can best be secured by offering facilities for adequate preliminary training to suitable youths. A highly skilled craftsman is in many respects in a much better position than an unsatisfactory and inferior tech- ^ nical worker.

A broad -definition of the difference between the two

1 The word " primary " is used throughout in preference to " elementary "- classes in terms of the knowledge they have to acquire will be assisted by the realization of the function the workers in each class have to fulfil, and, for completeness, the function assigned to the repetition worker may be included.

Any thought or object on which the attention is concentrated may be diagrammatically considered to be at the centre or focus of an area representing the field of consciousness. When the attention is held by an object, there is associated with the consciousness of it a vague realization of the presence or existence of other objects which may be said to be within the field of consciousness but away from the focus. The margin of consciousness occupied by these things is represented by that part of the area enclosed by the boundary line which is away from the focus. Any action which is performed automatically may be said to be outside the field of consciousness, i.e. outside the area representing the field. Some of these actions are instinctive, but others have been rendered habitual by constant performance over a long period, and their advantage lies in the fact that many such actions can be performed while the mind is occupied with weightier matters. The work of the specialist who is engaged solely on repetition work rapidly becomes, through long practice, quite habitual. At first the work and the machine are at the focus of consciousness, but after a time familiarity with the method enables the operative to proceed independently of whether his mind is concentrated solely on the work or not. Since the machine occupies a considerable part of the visual field, it is probable that it is generally inside the margin. The worker is seldom or never called upon to meet a new situation, and his work never involves problems which cannot be solved from the limited range of his past experience. He has to make scarcely any

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS' CLASSIFICATION ii

new judgments ; if this be necessary, he has invariably to ask for skilled assistance.

The skilled workman is in a rather different position. Some part of his work will undoubtedly be carried on automatically, for although it is generally of a far more complex nature than that of the repetition worker, a longer period of training has given him a frequently astonishing rapidity and dexterity, till the work becomes " second nature ". It is necessary, however, for the work to be at times at the very focus of consciousness, particularly when it involves thought as to subsequent methods of procedure. The skilled worker of the past, however, has been restricted too much to the line of his previous experience. He meets many situations in the course of the day's work which may be unusual, but practically all of them will have occurred before, and the procedure in all cases is settled with reference to his previous experience. Unless he has an original mind, the average workman seldom strikes any really new thought or idea, and when any thinking has to be done, he finds it necessary to get advice from a technically educated man. The great function of the skilled workman is to^ form prac tical judggignts^n^ matters which arisgjn the rniirse nf his work, to meet which he has at his disposaLaLimid_of painfully acqu[red_practical experi- . ence^ Some features of each new situation recall those of a previous one, which bring with them an idea of the way in which it was met, which in turn acts as a basis for the new method, generally similar to the old one. It is significant to note that one such previous experience is sufficient to enable a practical judgment to be formed, while to meet a new situation on a basis of habit necessitates very many previous experiences. Although habit enables the conditions to be met more certainly and rapidly, the scope of the conditions which can be so treated is very narrow. The limitations of practical judgment lie in the danger due to superficial resemblance between a new group of conditions and an old one if there is no underlying principle known to the worker to guide him. Further, only most recent experiences are available for ready recall, which explains why a man cannot leave a skilled trade, even for a short time, without detriment, and also one reason why a teacher of a trade should be allowed to keep in touch with it. In future, it will be desirable to train workmen in JjipjinHprlying pWnrip les nf their crafts, so that they are able to solve many problems that arise for themselves, thus eliminating to some extent the need for technical supervision. This process of making the work rational will give the work interest, and will make the workmen more independent of their trade traditions.

The technica l worker or engineer is invariably in the position of having to concentrate his work entirely in the focus of consciousness, since he has generally to think carefully about it. He has constantly to face new situations, and to bring his knowledge of fundamental scientific princip les and his experience to bear in making what is a_new_conceptuaLjudgyiient. Experiences, whether they be personal or racial, are utilized in meeting the new situation in such a way that the significant and salient features of all of them which relate to the situation are abstracted and brought to a new focus in such a way that a new thought is the result. In this way new progress in science is made.i

Stated briefly, every man acquires experience, whether through the school or through actual life. That of the specialist worker operates normally as a habit without any conscious effort, and thought would retard his rate

^ For an analysis of the functioning of experience, see Prof. Bagley's valuable " Educative Process ".

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS' CLASSIFICATION 13

of working at once. That of the craftsman is utilized in the formation of practical judgments, which involve the application of concrete experiences, these being gained mainly in a preparatory period of apprenticeship.

In the training of the technical man experiences are organized, causes and effects are related to the definite consistencies of procedure called laws, and superficial resemblances give way to a deep abiding essence or principle, around which experiences are clustered. The prime function of a technical man is that of a thinker.

These considerations make it clear that the function of each class of worker is fundamentally different, and that the training for each must be arranged accordingly. It must not be supposed that one branch of work is necessarily superior to another. The greatest possible economy would be secured if any individual could be placed in that class which would afford best scope for his own special proclivities.

With regard to the technical worker, the requirements as to scientific education and training are now generally well known. Much confusion exists, however, as to the character of instruction needed by the manual worker. This phase of industrial education will subsequently be dealt with fully.

Chapter II. Economic Aspect Of The Problem

There can be no doubt that much of the money expended on education is wasted, owing to the lack of that provision for supplementary training which renders education effective to the mass of workers. The difference in productive value, and consequently of value to the community, of a boy who learns a skilled trade on leaving school compared with one who enters a "blind-alley" occupation, probably becoming a labourer on reaching adult age, offsets to an enormous extent the cost of training of the potential craftsman.^

^ A labourer earning 23s. weekly at the age of twenty-five, with a life expectation of thirty-six years, earns roughly £2150. A skilled workman earning 40s. weekly, under similar conditions, would earn about ;f 3750, an increase of ;£i6oo, about 75 per cent on the labourer's total. The possibility of obtaining more by overtime, piecework, etc., and of less loss through unemployment, make, in the aggregate, a large addition to the craftsman's wages. Duringa seven-year period of training, an engineering apprentice earns about ;£i90, exclusive of overtime, etc. A " blind-alley " worker or labourer, in the same period, under most favourable conditions with respect to wages, earns about ;£25o, leaving a difference ot £60. The cost of primary education is identical in each case. Thus a training costing the youth ;f 60 results in a net gain of £1600.

In America industrial conditions are far less uniform, so that a comparison is more difficult. The following figures claim to be based on a study of the cases of 2000 actual workers, although the trained workers will probably include others besides skilled workmen. The net earnings of

ECONOMIC ASPECT OF THE PROBLEM 15

The Worker. — Labour, properly selected and trained, represents one of the most important economic features in industry. From the worker's point of view, the possession of certain experience of craft and physical energy represents capital, and the extent to which the individual can develop and employ these assets to the utmost of his capacity, determines the inherent possibilities of return to himself in money and in satisfaction.

As to craft experience, the importance of the most thorough training and its effect on production, both as regards quality and quantity, is self-evident. The proper use of physical effort so that consistency of application can be maintained and the maximum return obtained for the energy expended, depends partly on proper planning of and guidance in the sequence of operations to be carried out, but more especially on the mental attitude adopted by the worker towards the work. It is in this latter connection that an enormous benefit is to be obtained by suitable training. If the work is approached as a potential problem to be solved rather than as an arduous task that must be performed, the co-ordination of mental and physical effort will result in the greatest possible accomplishment for the energy expended. Training, therefore, which makes the worker interested in his employment, which instils in

the trained man are ultimately more than double those of the untrained worker : — per week.

In a similar way, by the introduction of scientific methods of education and training, the value of the artisan of the future may be increased beyond that of the workman trained on present-day lines, for insignificant training costs.

Age.

Untrained.

Trained.

$4 per week — n

Iio

9-50

1 1 -50 him a sense of pride of achievement, which embodies the importance of avoiding waste of materials, of time, and of effort by a careful study of the most efficient means of accomplishing the operations involved, is of the greatest importance to the worker in enabling him to realize to the full his capacity for production, which is a measure of the possible return.

This conception should not be confused with the scheme which aims at improving output by a close study of the individual motions of a worker, and at eliminating any expenditure of energy not directly involved in and necessary to production, thus tending to a machine-like precision of movement.

The aim here presented is rather a plea for a wider basis of knowledge and interest on the part of the worker, resulting from his acquaintance with the general series of operations of which his work is a part, thereby removing the conception that manual work is a necessary evil. Modern industrial workers are often extremely ignorant of the purpose of their work, and interest cannot be aroused and maintained unless this deficiency is made good. When, in addition, the worker is afforded a knowledge of the very best way of accomplishing results, of the reasons for performing each process, when he is given a knowledge of the materials he uses, is taught how to read drawings, then all his capacity, mental and physical, may be enlisted to the accomplishment of his work ; at the same time he is developing into a better all-round man. By means of such development, intelligence and originality may conceivably be increased.

The Employer. — The factors involving expenditure which enter into economic production are labour, material, and general expenses, the latter including such items as rent, rates, taxes, depreciation of machinery, and other charges, many of which are of constant amount, iridepend-

ECONOMIC ASPECT OF THE PROBLEM 17

ent of the quantity of work produced. It has been shown already that labour is directly affected by the efficiency of training.^ To a lesser extent, material costs may be influenced also, since the greater the accuracy of workmanship, the more scientifically accurate and closely calculated may designs be carried out and machining allowances be made. In addition to this economy, there is a direct saving of scrap to be effected by employees in avoiding the tendency, common in engineering and other works, to waste materials through sheer ignorance of their value.

As regards general expenses, these may also be influenced by the training of labour, since apart from variations due to waste of time and materials which enter into such expenses, and which will thus be affected, the greater the production, the smaller will be the amount of general expenses per unit produced. For example, if it were possible to replace the labour in a factory by the same number of specially trained workers who could produce twice the amount done by their predecessors even if these were paid the same amount per unit — and therefore earning twice as much — the manufacturing cost per unit would be reduced, since each unit would involve a smaller portion of factory rent and other general expenses. Further important economies may be effected in connection with the use of expensive tools subject to heavy depreciation, when these are handled by skilled, as compared with relatively poorly trained labour. Taken collectively, the more thorough the training of the worker towards making him a self-directive unit, the smaller the need for supervision and the greater the flexibility of the organization, both directly and indirectly, since it is advantageous for a supervisor to be able to divert labour from one channel to another, according to fluctuations

' For a further saving which may be made in this direction, see Chap.

VIII.

in business, and to meet urgent needs of production. In general, therefore, the employer who is far-seeing enough to train workers efficiently will secure an important advantage in competition with his less progressive rivals.

The Community. — From the point of view of the community, the more effective the selection and training of the worker, the greater the facility for economic production, which in turn renders the products of industry more easily accessible to the public through a lowering in price. This again stimulates greater production through greater demand, and raises the standard of comfort of the artisan. Thus even those individuals not directly concerned with the advantages of artisan training will reap an indirect benefit, a fact which makes even the material advantages a matter of national concern.

The National Point of View. — The failure to develop each worker by suitable education and training in his properly selected vocation to the utmost of his capacity represents a criminal waste of assets of incalculable value. In many industries the materials of construction in different countries cost much the same, and it is in the matter of labour and organization that one country can produce more economically than another, so that from the point of view of international competition the value of sound training and resultant economic production is obvious. While the necessity for well-trained workers is paramount, the need also for employers and supervisors having the proper appreciation of the value of scientific preparation of workers must be kept clearly in view. In this connection, the higher the degree of training of workmen, the greater the need for raising the standard of the employer. With the wider development of industrial training, the greater will be the possibility of discovering those workers possessing inherent ability to rise to commanding positions, and who are at present too often left in obscurity.