SHORTHAND AND TYPING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVXIII, Issue 53, 4 March 1937, Page 27

SHORTHAND AND TYPING.

It seems strange that it has not vet occurred to parents of young hove* in -New Zealand what a preat. advantage it would be to their sons were they to have thmi taught shorthand and typing In and other parts of the world, thousands of boys are learning shortHand and typing, but in this country it appears to be very rare indeed to find any youths with this accomplishment. I Have recently had three inquiries from various concerns for boys with a knowledge in shorthand and typing, or even typing alone, and have had to tell them that we know of n 0 such boys to be had. several heads of concerns have remarked that they would infinitely prefer male to female stenographers, as the female of the species has a habit of gettin-r married and leaving the business. Apart from this, shorthand is one of those things which is never wasted, no matter in what line of business a man may be Hβ will find it useful even if only for the jotting down of small quick notes. Should he be in an office as a junior in the ordinary way, the fact tha't he has this additional ability will enable him without doubt, to rise over the heads of all those other clerks who have to relv upon time and experience to attain any position of responsibility. It might be of interest to the public to know that great men such as Charles Dickens (who started his literary career as a reporter in the House) owe much of their success to the fact that in their youth they were shorthand writers. Therefore, my advice to parents -who have the interests of their young sons at heart, is to let them learn shorthand and typing. This will give their an advantage over those bo\ s who have been fortunate enough to have passed matriculation and accountancy examinations. To-day, the usual routine as regards boys is to start in an office as a messenger at 15/ a week. The boy is invariably at everybody's l>eck and call, and often continues ai office-boy for a period of two or three years," during which time he very often loses the inclination to continue this profession, and takes up factory or some other kind of work. The boy with the shorthand knowledge, however, -almost immediately secures a far more important position from the very beginning. COMMERCIAL.