"The training of a trade in European cultures has been a formal tradition for many centuries. A tradesman typically begins as an apprentice, working for and learning from a master, and after a number of years is released from his master's service as a
journeyman. After a
journeyman has proven himself to his trade's guild, he may settle down as a master and work for himself, eventually taking on his own apprentices."
(Wikipedia,
Tradesman, visited 2009-06-03)