In this interview, Steve Davis talks with Tom Karmel about his paper 'Apprenticeships in the downturn' (indexed at TD/TNC 97.15). Apprenticeships have a very long history in Australia, building on the traditions of the medieval guilds. The essence of the apprenticeship is the contract of training - a legal contract between an individual, an employer and a training provider. The defining characteristic is the combination of employment and training. The purpose of the paper is to describe what we know about apprenticeships and traineeships, with a view to assessing the likely impact of the...  [+] Show more

In this interview, Steve Davis talks with Tom Karmel about his paper 'Apprenticeships in the downturn' (indexed at TD/TNC 97.15). Apprenticeships have a very long history in Australia, building on the traditions of the medieval guilds. The essence of the apprenticeship is the contract of training - a legal contract between an individual, an employer and a training provider. The defining characteristic is the combination of employment and training. The purpose of the paper is to describe what we know about apprenticeships and traineeships, with a view to assessing the likely impact of the current economic downturn on them.