TABLE 22.—ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MEN ENGAGED IN BUILDING TRADES, 1915[TableList]
| Workers in trade | Number employed |
| Carpenters Painters, glaziers, varnishers Plumbers, gas- and steam-fitters Bricklayers Machine woodworkers Sheet metal workers or tinsmiths Cabinet-makers Inside wiremen and fixture hangers Plasterers Paperhangers Structural iron workers Roofers and slaters Stone-cutters Lathers Stone masons and marble setters Ornamental iron workers Cement finishers Hoisting engineers Elevator constructors Parquet floor layers Tile-layer Asbestos workers Wood carvers Helpers Apprentices | 7,105 2,746 2,014 1,800 1,198 1,069 895 750 638 379 356 315 292 275 250 200 200 150 100 100 100 75 63 926 306 |
| Total | 22,302 |
Apprenticeship
The general decline of the apprenticeship system which began with the invention of modern labor-saving machinery has affected the building trades least of all. Here it survives in an active state and is steadily gaining ground. It is in favor with many employers and with all unions. The best apprenticeship systems are found in the strongly organized trades.
It is true that in some of the trades apprenticeship is little more than a name, meaning simply that permission has been granted to learn the trade. The apprentice is left free to pick up what experience he can between the odd jobs that are given him. What meager instruction he receives comes from a journeyman worker who is none too eager to give up what he considers the secrets of his trade.
The union regulations provide that boys shall not enter the trades as apprentices or helpers below the age of 16. The limits set by the various trades and the union regulations as to length of apprenticeship are shown in Tables 23 and 24.
TABLE 23.—UNION REGULATIONS AS TO ENTERING AGE OF APPRENTICES[TableList]
| Workers | Time required |
| Asbestos workers Bricklayers Carpenters Cement finishers Elevator constructors Lathers Inside wiremen Painters and paperhangers Plumbers and gas-fitters Sheet metal workers Slate and tile roofers Steam-fitters Structural and ornamental iron workers | Enter at any age Between 16 and 23 Between 17 and 22 Must be full grown Must be full grown Must be 18 years old Between 16 and 21 Before 21 years old Must be 16 years old Must be over 16 years Must enter before 25 Must be full grown Between 18 and 25 |