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In Cantonese 師傅 will often be used to refer to some sort of specialized worker (e.g. a plumber, or a renovator) or some sort of "master" or "teacher" (not in the sense used in a school setting), similar to some senses of 先生 in Japanese as far as I know. Is this sort of usage also common in Mandarin, and is it used for the same things?
EDIT: Are there also regional differences to how commonly the phrase is used?
In 普通話, a 師傅 (simplified Chinese 师傅) is a specialized worker, while 師父 (simplified Chinese 师父) is a master who teaches something that will promote people spiritually. I think the two are different, although the pronunciations are the same. For the teacher who teaches us math, science, etc we use "老師" (simplified Chinese 老师).
Is this sort of usage also common in 普通話, and is it used for the same things?
Yes.
"师傅" means teacher or the guider who guides you to do something at the very beginning. There's a very famous saying: 师傅领进门，修行靠个人。 (Teachers can only guide you, Deeply learning depends on yourself).
Sometimes, 师傅 is a formal statement. E.G: 功夫熊猫(KongFu Panda)'s ShiFu:D, Here it means "大师" (master). We usually use "老师" when speaking.
A master/teacher should be 师父 instead of 师傅
The only times I've ever needed to use 师傅 is to address taxi drivers rather than calling them 司机 (driver), it sounds better as a respect kind of thing
In the taxi context, I guess by calling 师傅, you are referring to person behind the wheel as the person who gives you guidance (to where you need to go) rather than a 司机 which may imply a someone who follows your orders
In short, 师傅 is someone who you want to listen to, 司机 is someone who listens to you
