Negro Participation in Apprenticeship Programs

This article represents a summary of a study designed to identify and to evaluate approaches and methods to increase Negro participation in selected apprenticeship programs. In addition to reviewing the available literature pertaining to the topic, the findings are drawn from extensive personal interviews with officials of the apprenticeship establishment (unions, employers, and specialized government agencies dealing with apprenticeship) and with Negro youths who are participating in or who have sought entry into such programs. Issues such as the perpetuation of discriminatory selection practices; union apprenticeship traditions like nepotism and control over supply considerations; the paucity of actual Negro applicants to existing programs; the difficulties in providing qualified Negro applicants to programs; and the obstacles confronting Negroes in passing written and oral examinations for admission are all reviewed in detail. More than simply indicating the trouble spots, an effort is made to determine the proper weight to be assigned to each of these problem areas. The article concludes with specific public policy recommendations pertaining to the demand for apprentices in general; the role to be assumed by anti-discrimination policies; and the measures needed to increase the supply of qualified Negro applicants.