"EXPERIENCED."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 174, 25 July 1935, Page 5

"EXPERIENCED."

SITUATIONS VACANT.

DEMAND IN AUCKLAND

JOBS FOR SKILLED MEN

Once upon n time somebody stated the obvious and got the credit for being a Ba g e —that there is always room at the top of the tree for the efficient and experienced man. The demand for the experienced man has not lessened through the years; in fact, there is an extraordinary demand in Auckland at the moment for experienced men and women in a dozen different trades and professions. Night after night, week after week, the "Situations Vacant" column of the "Star" brings an ever-increasing appeal for tradesmen of experience. In eight out of ten advertisements which appear day by day the employer insists that the applicant shall be a man of experience. Why is it that so many jobs for men of experience have become vacant lately ? Why is there this increased demand for tradesmen :n various walks of life? Employers in various trades say that they cannot get good experienced men. Ts it that the army of relief workers, which contains men from every profession and trade in the world, has lost its morale? Is it that skilled tradesmen on relief work have been so long with the pick and the "banjo" that thcy have lost their touch, have lost all ambition, and are content to glance at the many opportunities offering in the "Situations Vacant" column in the pvenin ; and go off to their "banjo" in the morning , ? Opportunities Galore. Opportunities there are galore. One recent "star"' contained, to mention only a few. advertisements for boot machinists, farm hands, brass finishers, carpenters. dressmakers, electricians, shirt machinists, corset sa'e-"'T ien, upholsterers, vest and trouser iini^hero,

and salesmen to handle a dozen miscellaneous lines. In that column of advertisements, there were two only for boys. One offered farm positions, the other "wanted a boy for delivery, no bike required, 8/ a week." When it was pointed out to the manager of an Auckland clothing factory that employers in the majority of eases wanted men or women of experience, he was able to put forward a sound explanation. He said that in his factory he had no apprentices. According to the award, he was forced to pay apprentices £1 a week to start, and 25/ after the first six months. Boys were useless to him for the first 12 months, and in teaching them the trade, he was wasting his own time as well as that of his staff.

"It is far better for mo to employ experienced hands than waste time and money on boys," he said. "This particular New Zealand secondary industry lias to compete with goods manufactured in England, and we have to turn out the best, otherwise our business is damaged and the industry as a whole earns a bad reputation for turning out shoddy goods. To turn out a first-class article we must have first-class tradesmen. It would be useless trying to manufacture a firstclass article with a staff of young fellows who had little experience in the trade. That is why I want experienced men. It is better for me to employ top-notch men and women and pay them over the award rate. Then the best possible article is produced." Employers' Waiting Lists. Employers had only two courses open to them, explained a man closely associated with the employment problem. They had to engage youngsters and train them, or they had to engage experienced hands. One'chief reason why there were so many advertiseinnts for experienced workers and few for youths was that nearly every employer of labour in Auckland bad a waiting list of youngfellows Kiwr to start. Fathers took their sons along to an employer, put in an application for a job, and the sons' names were then placed on the end of the waiting list. As vacancies occurred, they were filled from the waiting list and the necessity to advertise for youths was consequently avoided. Quite often vorths put in applications to city firms before they left school. There were a fair number of young people offering for uil kinds of. jobs at the present time.

"Attractive trades sueli a* engineering, motor engineering, electrical and cabinet-making all have big- waiting lists." said the employer. "There is another reason why employers all want experienced hands. The apprenticeship laws are so restrictive that employers hesitate to enter into apprenticeship contracts, and that applies to all trades to-day. With so much machinery being used, employers must have experienced men to handle the machines. If a man puts a £o()0 machine in his factory, it is not likely he is going to employ a couple of hoys to handle it. He must have an experienced man." Tradesmen Lose Touch. The same employer referred to the hundreds of skilled*tradesmen on relief works. He said that after they had been away from their trade for some time they lost touch completely, and in most instances it took the men some ; time to find their touch again. But he ! believed that most of the trade unions would be prepared to give under-rate worker's permits to men for .a lew months until they had recovered thenold skill and we're then n.ble to earn the award rates of pay. He was certain that sympathetic consideration i would be -iven to the issue ot such ! permits It would give men a great Opportunity to get back to their trades i anil thus raise their standard o liv.n-r. i One bi" trade in which employment varies according to fashion is in the manufacture of millinery. One season hand-stitched hats will he the fashion and perhaps that vogue will last for three years, lint unaccountably the fashion "will change and efficient milliners who make by hand will find themselves without a job. Then there is an urgent demand for machinists, and quite often it cannot be met in Auckland. Girls who have worked for three years as machinists suddenly find themselves in search of a job. and when they find one they stick to it and never return to the 'millinery trade. That is one more reason why the word '•'experienced" appears so often in the advertisement? of employers.