Apprenticeship
The system of apprenticeship has been used for many hundreds of years.  In the late Middle Ages the craft guilds and town governments used to watch and control the system.  A master craftsman had the right to employ young people to work for them and pay them a small salary.  In return the apprentice would be learning the trade.  Most apprentices were males, but female apprentices are more common nowadays, especially in crafts such as embroidery, silk-weaving etc..