Master craftsman
History
A master craftsman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. In the European guild system, only master craftsmen were allowed to actually be members of the guild.
An aspiring master would have to pass through the career chain from apprentice to journeyman before he could be elected to become a master craftsman. He would then have to produce a sum of money and a masterpiece before he could actually join the guild. If the masterpiece was not accepted by the masters, he was not allowed to join the guild, possibly remaining a journeyman for the rest of his life. Becoming a master was often very hard.
In many guilds, the master craftsman had strict obligations, one of which was to take on an apprentice (or several depending on the craft) to ensure the survival of the guild.Without apprentices, there would be no one left to continue the craft.
Today's master craftsman in different countries
United States
While guilds as such do not exist, many trades continue the apprentice-journeyman-master model. Electricians, pipefitters and plumbers are notable examples. In some cases, different levels of craftperson belong to different labor unions.
Today Florida State University has a special Master Craftsman Program to train artists in handcrafts.
Germany
While guilds have also been abolished in Germany, the ranks of apprentice, journeyman and master craftsman have been retained until today. For many crafts one still has to be a "Meister" to be allowed to run a business of that craft (strictly speaking: a company that offers services in a craft needs to contain a master of that craft, so it's not a legal requirement that the owner be the master craftsman. It's just the normal case that he is). 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; any craft that is perceived as being security relevant, like eg electricians and chimney sweeps, still has it and is unlikely to get it removed anytime soon.
The master craftsman is of the highest education in crafts and it is a state-approved grade. The education includes theoretical and practical training depending on the craft and also business and legal training. The required education to be allowed to train apprentices is included too. The status of master craftsman is regulated in the German Gesetz zur Ordnung des Handwerks, HandwO (Law of crafts).
The requirements to become a master craftsman are usually an education in the crafts in which the examination should be taken (a successfully completed apprenticeship and examination, called Gesellenprüfung) and experience of at least 3 years as a journeyman (Geselle). Then the training courses can be visited and after that the examination can be taken. The duration of the courses depends on the craft and can take some years. The examination includes theoretical, practical and oral parts and takes some days (depending on the craft). In most crafts a master piece still has to be made.
Master craftsman who are not running their own business usually have a leading position in a company, not only in crafts. Many companies prefer a master craftsman instead of an university graduate as a technical manager as the education is more practical and they also have good theoretical skills and business knowledge. German master craftspeople are accepted in many countries of the world because of their good education.