[Jewelry making - Article 00136] - Re: [Orchid] Apprenticing

[Jeffrey Everett]

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Hi Karen

>      I'm wondering how apprenticeships work. 

    I learned the trade through an apprenticeship program in CA through
    a state sponsored program in 1971. I believe I was the last person to
    benefit from this program. That program worked with state matching
    funds. The employer paid me half of minimum wage and the state picked
    up the other half. If my wife hadn't been working, I couldn't have
    afforded to participate. 

    I mention the above because I learned something about
    apprenticeships through it. I don't know how much it will help you,
    but I'm glad to share some of it. 

    I think I approached every single jewelry store and manufacturer on
    the S.F. peninsula over a period of about 3 months. Finally, a
    jewelry store manager called me back and gave me a lead. That lead
    led to a position where I was to participate in the program mentioned
    above. The apprenticeship was quite basic. I learned jewelry repair
    and machine engraving. For four years, I basically sized and repaired
    rings, soldered chains and charms, and engraved jewelry. The
    experience was invaluable in getting me into a *real* apprenticeship
    in a S.F. manufacturing trade shop. In other words, without some
    fundamental training, it's terribly difficult to find an
    apprenticeship. 

    On that note, Riddle's Jewelers in North Dakota (or is it South
    Dakota?) offers (or used to offer) apprenticeships in their
    manufacturing shop. What will you learn to do there? Basic soldering,
    and probably some other skills including casting and finishing. Basic
    grunt work, but invaluable in getting your foot in the door
    elsewhere. 

    This is basically how it works. Some shops need trainees to perform
    simple and repetitive tasks. They are generally very low paying
    positions and boring work, but you will learn some basic skills.
    People who take on apprentices usually want to earn a profit from
    them, otherwise it just doesn't work. It takes a lot of time to train
    someone, and that means lost income. 

    When I worked in a union trade shop as a journeyman jeweler in S.F.
    (early 1970's), there was a union rule that only one apprentice was
    allowed per 7 bench workers. In the early 80's the union all but
    disappeared except in L.A. I believe. That was the last union shop I
    worked at. I think it was in '82 that watchmakers and jewelers
    struck, and that was the start of the end, or something like that... 

    Okay, the above was basically about repair, the way many trade shops
    earn money. You, however, may want to learn jewelry making. That's a
    toughie, you may be basically on your own. Some universities offer
    programs, but they co$t! I managed to learn real jewelry making
    skills after years of practice at the bench, and I did most of it on
    my own. I set up a bench at home, bought books, asked questions of
    other jewelers and so on. 

    It takes a tremendous amount of determination and persistence to
    learn this craft. There's just so much to learn! 

    If you have an idea of exactly what kind of jewelry you'd like to
    produce, there may be dramatic shortcuts in your education. If you
    desire the kind of broad ranging skills that trade shop jewelers have
    learned over years of work, then you will most likely have to go the
    long road. 

    Maybe you can develop a relationship, and a friendship with the
    German lady. I think you've got a good idea there. If she likes you,
    she might just agree to something... 

Jeffrey Everett


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