HOW THE IGBO SYSTEM OF APPRENTICESHIP HAS HELPED TAKEN PEOPLE OFF THE STREET

The high rate of apprenticeship that was seen in the early 60's to 90's has reduced drastically in this day as people wants to start own their own with no proper guide from professionals. Well, the world has advanced to the stage that one can learn almost everything online but it still depends on the ability of the person's brain to as-simulate, with time it is has been known that establishing a good business, one need to pick lessons from previous business owners. Searching round the world through google, I got to understand that the Igbo system of apprenticeship still stands till this day.

In this system of Apprenticeship only that only the male child in a family is allowed to go into this and they are below the age of 20 in most cases. Lemme give a practical explanation. Mr Okonkwo is a business man living in Lagos, Okonkwo business is growing at a very fast pace and he could not manage the whole of it all alone and definitely needs help, in the Western world, the best help Okonkwo would seek is opening a space for employment which the workers will be paid as shop attendant but since its almost a tradition in the Eastern part of Nigeria, he resulted to the old ways by returning back to his village and gets his parents look for someone outside his family, who is willingly to return to the city with him. You might wonder if the family they are asking to release their son to go learn a trade would accept this offer, mind you the boy will not be paid during the time he is going to be spent. Some are taken as early as 9 years and they might serve their master for 5 to 6 years depending when the master deem it fit that his boy can handle a business on his own.

In compensations, Okonkwo opens a new business (shop) fully loaded with goods and all paid by Okonkwo and he hands it over to the boy(apprentice) and from there another person can be established and thereby taking people off the street.

Note: The minds of a kid or teenager are still flexible and can be redressed to fit in the way of the master when it comes to management.

They learn at a tender age, as they grow they tend to bring in new ideas and help push the business further. It is a belief that not everyone will/can be educated so they put their minds into business. With the decay of the educational system, a lot of graduate has been taught by this same uneducated apprentice who knows the work better than those who actually studied it at the University , this can be seen mostly with Engineering.