GREATER SKILL.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18901, 17 January 1927, Page 4

GREATER SKILL.

WORKSHOP TRAINING CLASSES. RAILWAY APPRENTICES' TUITION. With a view to securing greater efficiency, the Railway Department recently* instituted instructional classes for apprentices in locomotive branch workshops. Boys will thus be given an opportunity to become skilled craftsmen, and to specialise in locomotive work The classes arc conducted by competent instructors in Auckland, Petone Christchurcb, and Duned.n, and le-tures are given at frequent intervals by officers of the Department who are hi-hlv skilled in the various branches of "railway engineering. Recently a conference was held m Wellington to discuss questions relating t 0 the instructional classes, which were begun in June 1926 and decisions were arrived at ***\- h ™ resulted in the scope of the classes being considerably extended. . From personal contact with the apprentices, it had been found that the majority of them had failed to retain much of the instruction that they received at public schools, and the conference was satisfied that the. establishment of classes within the workshops to improve their technical knowledge would not only be a boon to the apprentices, but would result in their becoming more skilled tradesmen. It was found that at Addington, only 10 per cent of the apprentices were attending classes at the Technical College or Canterbury College, and about an equal percentage had gained certificates. The others had not made any technical study. Accordingly, a new syllabus was drawn up, and the course of instruction for the workshop classes for the first three years of apprenticeship now includes: arithmetic, geometrical drawing, mensuration, freehand sketching, mechanical drawing, marking rff from blue-prints, calculation for machine work, and engineering terms and abbreviations. This course is similar to that given in shop instruction classes by railway companies in other countries, where the value of training their own apprentices is fully realised.*

Technical Education. Mr W. Bobbins, instructor at the Addington workshops, recently stated that there was no question of antagonism to the Technical Colleges, and apprentices ■ were encouraged to go there by the Department, paying the fees in the case of those not entitled to free tuition. The instruction eiven at the Technical College was a great help to him. Workshop Lectures. For fourth and fifth year apprentices there is no class instruction, but lectures are given fortnightly by a workshop official on some aspect of craftsmanship, or shop practice Each apprentice serves a probationary period of two months, and on expiry of that time, ho is asked by the apprentice instructor whether he has a sufficient liking for the trade he has taken up. whole-heartedly to endeavour to make himself a competent tradesman. If he expresses a wish to chance over t« some other trade, the-officer determines whether he is better fitted for that particular trade, and. if so. the change is made. No apprentice is rjermitted to transfer to another trade, after working six months at one trade, except in cases of physical disability. Thu scheme, which was fntlifrod ■by Mr T. Sirridv. Superintendent of Workshops Wellington, is prorina most successful, and the boys are keen and anxious to learn. _ As vet the-elates are more or less in their infancy, nut already the-results are showing that in'the Government service a boy-, may have every facilitv placed »t his disposal to become a highly skilled tradesman.