YOUTH EMPLOYMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 223, 20 September 1935, Page 12

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT.

TREND TO CITY POSITIONS. RURAL LIFE VALUE STRESSED. The need for tlie care of boys in tlieir most important formative period —from the ago of 14 to 21 —was emphasised by Mr. X. G. Gribble, secretary of the Boys' Employment Committee, in an address to members of the Optimist Club yesterday. Mr. G. Malcolm presided.

Many boys at this age were without the guidance of a man—fatherless boys, boys living with their grandmothers, and boys whoso fathers were little better than dead, said Mr. Gribble. They had to be lifted on to their feet and plaees found for them. At fij'st the majority of positions were offered from the land, but there was now a steady trend away from the country. The old position had been practically reversed, and since the end of last March 20 per cent of the placements had been in the country, as compared with 80 per cent in the towns. In Auckland it was pleasing to find that employers were applying direct to the schools, for the masters knew the boys wqII and could make the most suitable selections. The value of rural life should be emphasised to a greater extent, concluded the speaker. Beside the wholesome and beneficial effects of life on the land, a solid agricultural basis was necessary to the stability and strength of a nation.