The Role of Battery Training in Improving Battery Reliability

Since the early days of civilization, the method by which the craft skills have been taught was through an apprenticeship program. A young person would work under an older craftsman, learning the skills to eventually ply a trade and succeed – maybe not always in the way they might have thought. After all, some of our founding fathers were originally apprentices – Benjamin Franklin was a printer and Paul Revere a silversmith. Over the centuries, the composition of the apprenticeship has changed; initially they were comprised of guilds to establish standards of workmanship. Then, in 1919, government got involved, and the first laws were introduced that required the apprentices to undertake 150 hours of theory and general education in addition to their work experience.

For many apprentices, that work experience would be in the maintenance department. Working with the various journeymen that had different areas of responsibility exposed them to the different aspects of their select trade. This allowed the apprentices to identify the areas they would prefer to work in, and their education continued long after the apprenticeship had ended, through the ongoing mentorship of their older experienced colleagues.