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Orientation: The artisan job family is the number one area of concern with regard to filling vacancies both nationally and globally. Hence, artisanship has been identified as a scarce and critical skill. The domestic economy and the effectiveness and success of many organisations could be strengthened if the artisanal crisis is adequately addressed. Research purpose: This article proposes a screening process for organisations to use during the selection of apprentices. The selection process has four phases: application review, rating of application documentation, aptitude testing and skills-based teamwork assessment, and interviews. The effect of the selection phases on the survival of the applicants was investigated. Motivation for the study: This study adds to the limited body of literature on artisans, apprentices and the selection of individuals for these technical positions. In addition, it provides recommendations to optimise the selection process for this job family. Research design, approach and method: Large amounts of archived data from an annual apprentice selection process at a large multinational automotive firm were accessed. A quantitative measure, survival analysis, was used to assess whether the survival curves were statistically different across the groups. Main findings: The four selection phases had a significant effect on the survival time of the applicants in the selection process. The significance of the Gehan–Wilcoxon statistic suggests that the survival distribution across the applicants was not because of chance but rather indicates a true difference in the data. The constructs assessed at each phase had a significant effect on the selection success of the apprentice applicants. The termination rate of applicants was steady across all four selection phases. Practical/managerial implications: The multiple-hurdle selection process employed in this study should be replicated and employed as the national selection tool for apprentices. The use of standardised application documentation is recommended, and job preparation workshops should be provided to assist apprentice applicants. Contribution/value-add: The findings of this study are relevant to the South African automotive industry, as well as the manufacturing sector. The findings are also of value to human resource practitioners, educators, social scientists, and industrial and organisational psychologists.

Orientation: Technological innovations and developments in methods of productivity have resulted in an increased demand for technically-oriented artisans. However, the supply of qualified artisans is insufficient to meet the demand. Research purpose: This article is the product of a systematic investigation into the extent and nature of empirical literature related to human resource selection practices used for apprentices. Motivation for the study: The authors noted inadequate research into the selection practices used for apprentices. This investigation was motivated by the need to systematically verify the extent and nature of the empirical literature on apprentice selection, both internationally and nationally. Research design, approach and method: A systematic literature review of published empirical research articles (for the period 1990–2020) in scholarly databases was conducted. The literature was accessed through relevant databases within the business management, human resource management and industrial psychology fields. The literature was restricted to scholarly (i.e., peer reviewed journals), English full textual data. Twelve combinations of two clusters of key words were used in the search function. The first cluster was apprentice, apprenticeship and artisan, with the second cluster being selection, selection process, staffing and recruitment. Four exclusion categories were used to reject literature that were unrelated, dissimilar and unconnected with the purpose of the literature review. Main findings: From the comprehensive review of the literature, 12 articles were found to have content related to the selection of apprentices. Five core themes, with 11 sub-themes, were identified from this literature. A research agenda is proposed with research questions identified for each theme. Practical/managerial implications: This literature review has provided a synthesised summary of the available literature on apprentice selection. Through the provision of a research agenda, this article contributes by providing a foundation for further research in the field. Contribution/value-add: This article adds to the current literature available on apprentice selection practices. This should alert researchers of the need to further explore this area to enhance knowledge and understanding of the best practices employed in the selection of apprentices.