Tradesman

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This article is about the skilled manual worker meaning of the term; for other uses see Tradesperson (disambiguation)

A tradesman is a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft. Economically and socially, a tradesman's status is considered between a labourer and a professional, with a high degree of both practical and theoretical knowledge of their trade. In cultures where professional careers are highly prized there can be a shortage of skilled manual workers, leading to lucrative niche markets in the trades.

The training of a trade in European cultures has been a formal tradition for many centuries. A tradesman typically begins as an apprentice, working for and learning from a Master, and after a number of years is released from his master's service as a Journeyman. After a Journeyman has proven himself to his trade's guild (most guilds are now known by different names), he may settle down as a Master and work for himself, eventually taking on his own apprentices.

Since the 20th Century, this process has been changed in many ways. A tradesman still begins as an apprentice, but the apprenticeship is carried out partly through working for a qualified tradesman and partly through an accredited trade school for a definite period of time (usually around 4 years), after which he/she is fully qualified. Starting one's own business is purely a financial matter, rather than being dependent on status. Few trades still make a distinction between a qualified tradesman and a master, although some still do.

A Jack of all trades is a colloquial term for someone who holds some degree of skill/qualification in more than one trade, but has not made a continuous career of any one. In many cases, a trade has been largely eliminated by social or technological change, and skilled workers have found employment in similar trades (e.g. typesetters have become mostly obsolete due to electronic printing).