In 2004, Germany abolished the master requirement, the Meisterpflicht, for 53 crafts. Among tile layers, the number of businesses then rose from about 12,400 to more than 70,000. The number of apprentices fell by 67 percent. The association of turners said it had lost a complete generation of journeymen and masters.
On 14 February 2020, a new law came into force that restored the requirement for 12 of these crafts, among them tile layers, parquet layers, interior decorators and organ builders. The federal government said it was responding to falling numbers of apprentices and falling quality.