This article serves as a foundation for understanding the earliest form of technical instruction in colonial America. It is a synthesis of historical studies that have addresses the education of indentured servants and apprentices in colonial America. It defines indentured servitude and contrasts it with apprenticeship--a form of indentured service. The paper addresses how indentured servitude in colonial America became established and how those who were employed through such means fared. Primary emphasis is on the education that indentured servants and apprentices would have received and how that varied by time periods and regions. This manuscript reveals that three general changes occurred: 1) from the adaptation of traditional practices from England to support agricultural labor in the early colonial period, 2) through a transition period caused by slavery (primarily in the south) and an increased need for apprentices in skilled trades (primarily in the north), and 3) until the late colonial period when education was emerging as a value that would help America succeed in its independence.