L'apprentissage hors des corporations: Les formations professionnelles alternatives à Paris sous l'Ancien Régime

Guild regulations describe apprenticeship as a form of one-on-one vocational training a youth received from a master craftsman or merchant, with the long-term goal of attaining guild membership. This definition of apprenticeship, framed by its relationship with the guild system, has dominated historical views of vocational training and the reproduction of the labor force in Old Regime France. This article challenges those views by examining supplementary forms of vocational training in eighteenth-century France and their complex interaction with the guild system. The author focuses, in particular, on the Hôpital de La Trinité, charity apprenticeships funded by the Parisian parishes, and vocational programs for girls in free charity schools. This study reveals multiple paths toward acquiring skill and highlights the creation of vocational training programs for girls outside the home intended to prepare them for the skilled labor market.