The whole apprenticeship thing is extremely dicey. Pick the wrong field and you're screwed for life. Tool and die work, for instance, is dead in this country. Though a guy I used to know did something similar for diamonds/gems and went from minimum wage to six figures in a couple of years.
Interesting about your friend the art history student. I happen to know a couple who are doing pretty well in museums and galleries and auction hourses. Combine art history with an MBA and you have a killer resume. Could it be that she's not all that motivated?
Apprenticeship is no more dicey than a college degree, and requires less of a time investment. Pick the wrong college degree and you are just as screwed as if you apprentice to a dead craft. You can always re-apprentice in a new field, that's essentially how people change careers already, take a position at the bottom of the new field and work their way up. The difference with apprenticeship is that even if the trade dies the work skills, ethics, and experience remain. Contrast this to a poorly-chosen degree which cannot be usefully applied to anything else.
The thing about the museum field is that there is an extremely limited number of jobs for a large number of people who want them. They're great once you're in - but if you can't get in, there is no alternative. Even when you are in you have basically no leverage as an employee, whereas with another skill you could credibly have the option of leaving one employer for another.
On my Art History friend... yes a lack of motivation is definitely evident - and this eternal-education path that is available is a prime enabler for this behavior. In the commercial world that sort of behavior would be corrected quite quickly!