Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulated occupation. Most of their training is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade or profession, in exchange for their continued labor for an agreed period after they have achieved measurable competencies.

A tradesperson or tradesman/woman is a skilled worker that specialises in a particular trade. Tradesperson (tradesman/woman) usually gain their skills through work experience, on-the-job training, an apprenticeship program or formal education.