This is a nice alternative to apprenticeship, and to be honest, I have no clue which I like better! Perhaps this could be one of those “You decide how far you want to go with optimization” things, with the current system the least micromanagey but also least optimized, and both training and apprenticing would be steps up from that.
Off-topic: On almost every post I write, I post a link to a related post. If I ever get a title, it needs to be something like A Link to the Post… but I digress.
“and other times you’d get a crafted item…” This is what I feel makes training work as an idea. Rather than sending a crafter to help a more experienced one, you’re sending a crafter to try to make something. And is that not how people get better at stuff?