EMPIRE SETTLEMENT.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19889, 28 March 1930, Page 6

EMPIRE SETTLEMENT.

WOMEN'S TRAINING HOSTEL. (raoit otra owx cobrespohdbnt.) LONDON, February 20. Arrangements have been made between the Oversea Settlement Department of the Dominions Office and the Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women (the 5.0.5.8. W.), whereby the Women's Training Hostel at Market Harborough, which was established over two years ago as a centre for training young women for household employment in Australia, will be taken over and managed by the Society as from April Ist. TMb hostel was set up as the result of a proposal made at the Imperial Conference of 1926, that the Dominion Governments should co-operate with the British Government in training or testing people in this country before theii settlement' oversea. The Australian Government agreed, as an experiment, to co-operate in the establishment and management of a training hostel for women household workers.

The change of management follows the announcement that the Australian Government did not see their wafer at the present juncture to continue their contribution to the expenses of the hostel, although they agreed to continue the grant of free passages to such household workers as could be placed by the State Governments. In future women will be accepted for settlement in Canada and New Zealand as well as in Australia.

The Oversea Settlement Department has agreed to continue to share the expenses of carrying on the hostel. Since tho commencement of the training courses in 1927 the hostel has maintained a high record of success, and highly satisfactory reports have been received periodically from Australia on the progress made by those trained there. The- numbers sailing in 1928 and 1929 were 266 and "258 respectively, these figures representing no fewer than 11 per cent, and 15 per cent, of the total number of women who in those two years were granted free passages to Australia as household workers. Vesr few of these have failed to settle down satisfactorily and happily overseas.