About Us

While guilds have also been abolished in Germany, the ranks of apprentice, journeyman (German: Geselle, literally a person in shared accommodation [German: Saal => hall]) and master craftsman have been retained until today. For many crafts any business in the trade still has to be run by a master craftsman or has to employ at least one Meister to be allowed to run a business of that craft.

• The Guild of Craftsmen
• The Local Guild Repository
• The Apprentices' Hall
• The Mark

Journeymen and masters are by law automatically members of their regional Chamber of the skilled crafts which is a self governing public body. The Chamber is the organiser of the technical vocational educational training and oversees the examination of the journeymen and masters. The justification for this is the (perceived or actual) higher quality which is achieved by businesses run by master craftspeople. Some people claim that this restriction limits free enterprise initiative and thus fosters the current high unemployment rate in Germany. Lately, several crafts have had the requirement for businesses to have a master of the craft removed; however, any craft that is perceived as being security relevant, for instance electricians and chimney sweeps, still has this condition and it is unlikely to be waived in the near future.