MarginWorkshopApprentice-to-Journeyman Ratio Economics
Across any trade, compare sending an apprentice-journeyman team against a solo journeyman, from your own pay ratio and productivity assumptions.
How we got here
- Team duration = solo hours / (1 + output multiplier) = 8 / (1 + 0.40) = 5.71 hrs
- Raw labor cost delta (team - solo) = $18.57
- Freed time value = time freed × freed value/hr = 2.29 × $100 = $228.57
- Net value of team = freed time value - raw labor cost delta = $228.57 - $18.57 = $210
If you already know how long the job takes solo versus with a helper from experience, the direct-duration version of this comparison is more accurate.
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Methodology
Formula: team duration = solo job duration / (1 + apprentice output multiplier). Raw labor cost delta = team labor cost - solo labor cost. Freed time value = journeyman hours freed × freed value per hour. Net value of team = freed time value - raw labor cost delta.
Assumption: the apprentice pay ratio defaults to 50% of journeyman scale, a researched benchmark (commonly 40-55% across trades). The output multiplier (how much productive output the apprentice adds) is your own estimate, not a benchmark.
Limitation: if you already know your solo and team job durations from experience, the direct-duration version of this comparison (see Crew Mix Economics, Apprentice vs. Journeyman) is more accurate than estimating from a productivity multiplier.