the society at large, either in the form of skilled employment or selfemploymentn (McLaughlin, 1979, pp. 239-40). And while it is true that the range of competence may be limited, this problem can be overcome by the clustering of related skills: for example, the welder and the blacksmith operating in close proximity to the automotive mechanic<sup>(Koll and Lajunji,</sup> 1967).

# Strengths and weaknesses of indigenous apprenticeship

Adagtation of the training to local conditions: Indigenously-trained apprentices possess some advantages over the formally-trained which may go some way to compensate for their inferior knowledge of theory.<sup>One is their</sup> ability, derived from extensive hands-on experience in actual working conditions, and the cultivation of working relationships with counterpart informal-sector artisans like welders and blacksmiths, to improvise when appropriate parts or tools are not available. This resourcefulness can be of crucial importance in those countries where imports are expensive<sup>or their</sup> supply erratic. For instance, McLaughlin's detailed study of automotive mechanic training in Ghana concludes, "their sometimes ingenious<sup>improvised</sup> repairs in seemingly hopeless situations epitomize their unique<sup>contributions</sup> to the transportation industry. **.** while some see the wayside mechanic as a poorly-trained illiterate who mixes crude tools with shoddy practices, others see him as a truly creative craftsmar. with an extraordinary capacity to survive--even thrive--under conditions that would thoroughly frustrate a more systematic mechanic." (McLaughlin, 1979, pp. 201-2).

Development of business skills: A second advantage is that their apprenticeship may help to prepare fox their role as small businessmen: "Although formal vocational schools and technical institutes<sup>also teach the</sup> technical skills of motor mechanics, only the wayside worksnop<sup>provides the</sup> opportunities to learn the more important entrepreneurial and managerial skills they will need in operating their own workshops.<sup>An apprentice who has</sup> stayed with his master for four or five years will have<sup>acquired considerable</sup> experience in supervising younger workers, taking overall responsibility for the quality of repair jobs, dealing with customers,<sup>and cultivating</sup> relationships with spare parts dealers. Often, these entrepreneurial skills are overlooked by critics of indigenous training and<sup>frequently even by the</sup> apprentices and master themselves. With all the attention<sup>given to the</sup> technical skills of the trade, it is sometimes left<sup>unrecognized that a whole</sup> dimension of valuable managerial skills are being learned<sup>quite unconsciously</sup> by apprentices" (McLaughlin, 1979, p. 202).

The same point is made by Allen in the context of tailoring,<sup>drawing</sup> on his study of apprentices in Zaria, Nigeria (Allen,<sup>1982): the apprentice</sup> must learn "not only how to sew, but how to find and<sup>treat customers, and</sup> generally how to make out in an increasingly competitive market in which he will be surrounded by hundreds of other equally skilful<sup>tailors."</sup> Not infrequently the transition from apprenticeship to selfemployment is eased by an intervening period of wage-employment in which the employee may work on his own account in his spare time<sup>(Tunisia, National</sup> Institute of Statistics, 1977, p. 150).

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