basis for vocational counsel. Here is a brief abstract of a study of

The Machinist

"A machinist is a constructor of machines and engines, or one versed in the principles of machines; in the general sense, one who invents or constructs mechanical devices of any kind. The two grand divisions of the occupation are general machine work and tool making. The pattern maker is a woodworker. The four divisions of people receiving wages are the apprentice boy, the journeyman, the foreman, and the superintendent. The chief danger of the occupation is from dust in cutting and grinding metals, especially in brass working. There is an ever-widening field for the expert machinist, and the future of the industry will be good in all lines.

"Pay in the beginning ranges from $3 to $8 a week, according to age, conditions of apprenticeship, or shop entered. Boys do errands, act as messengers to machinists, do drilling, milling, lathe work, planing, shaping, and run light machines. A young man, after a period of learning such processes, earns from $12 to $15 a week. A journeyman earns $2.50 or $2.75 a day. A foreman earns from $21 to $25 a week. The salary of the superintendent ranges from several hundred to many thousand dollars a year.

"In this occupation a boy is rarely taken under fifteen years of age. He should have a grammar-school education. There are found many graduates of high and technical schools. These generally become foremen or superintendents. A boy should have natural mechanical skill and should be strong and in good health."

K

(2) Education. The second branch of the Bureau's activity is concerned with the further education of young people, whether they be still in school or already employed. There is on file in the office detailed information as to educational opportunities in the vicinity of Boston. One chart supplies a list of schools for industrial training; another gives a list of institutions that supply advanced vocational training; a third offers a list of schools, public and philanthropic, where commercial instruction may be had; a fourth gives the list of organized opportunities for those who are physically handicapped, such as the blind, the deaf, and the crippled.

(3) Counsel. - Under the third head there is a vast and complex system for giving advice to young people concerning their further progress. There are daily conferences for this purpose. Numerous publications of the Bureau are at the service of applicants. Speeches and lectures are given, and a library is maintained.

(4) Vocational Advising. - Lastly, there is a branch for general or unclassified advice to all sorts of people. The man who has no fixed plan of life comes for assistance. Young men employed in various places of the city come with reference to

changes of vocation. Parents come regularly to consult about the welfare of their children. Employers seek the advice of the bureau on various matters.

IV. Summary. - From this sketch of the work of vocational guidance in New York and Boston, it is evident that the employment bureau is an insignificant feature of a very large enterprise. Lack

of self-knowledge is the cause of many tragedies. Know thyself," is the first exhortation of the Vocation Bureau to youth. But it does not stop with advice. It supplies the facilities and material for self-study. Secondly, the Bureau makes a survey of the field of human industry and offers to the youth accurate information concerning the conditions, qualifications, dangers, rewards, and prospects of the various kinds of employment. Having set youth to the study of self and the study of industry with a view to a wise choice of an occupation, the Bureau finally exerts its inspirational offices to induce the young to make thorough preparation for the chosen vocation; and offers such assistance in this preparation as may be desired or required. An employment bureau in itself is of small value to an immature child. There is no

profit in bringing the boy and the job together, unless the two are adapted to each other.

The matters of prime importance are an intelligent comprehension of one's capabilities, a wide knowledge of employments, and thorough preparation for one's chosen life work.

CHAPTER VIII

APPRENTICESHIP AND COMPULSORY EDUCATION

I. European Experience. In the days of old all arts and crafts were learned from masters by a system of apprenticeship. The vocational school is a modern substitute or supplement of apprenticeship. Therefore no account of vocational education is complete which fails to take note of the relation of the apprentice to the industry, the school, and the State.

1. Switzerland.1-There is in this country a State apprenticeship system supervised by a central committee of the Swiss Union of Arts and Trades in coöperation with the National Department of Industries and the Cantonal and Communal labor organizations. The apprentice enters into a formal contract with his employer which defines the rights and duties of both parties. It specifies the length of term, the hours of labor, and the time when the

1 See Bulletin No. 19, 1913, U. S. Commissioner of Education, p. 64.