In Turkey, apprenticeship has been part of the small business culture for centuries since the time of Seljuk (Great Seljuq Empire) Turks (Turkish people) who claimed Anatolia as their homeland in the 11th century.
There are three levels of apprenticeship. The first level is the apprentice, i.e., the "çırak" in Turkish (Turkish language). The second level is pre-master which is called, "kalfa" in Turkish. The mastery level is called as "usta" and is the highest level of achievement. An 'usta' is eligible to take in and accept new 'ciraks' to train and bring them up. The training process usually starts when the small boy is of age 10-11 and becomes a full grown master at the age of 20-25. Many years of hard work and disciplining under the authority of the master is the key to the young apprentice's education and learning process.
In Turkey today there are many vocational schools that train children to gain skills to learn a new profession. The student after graduation looks for a job at the nearest local marketplace usually under the authority of a master.