APPRENTICES ACT

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21465, 6 May 1935, Page 18

APPRENTICES ACT

DIFFICULTIES OF I, EMPLOYERS V "SERIOUS MATTER FOR TRAINEES" "The effect of the Apprentices Act 1923, has bee!) felt by all coachbuilders who have employed apprentices during the last three or four years. The difficulties created by the act have brought many employers to the conviction that they would not employ any more apprentices if they could possibly do without them," said the report of. the New Zealand Coach and Motor-Body Builders' Industrial Association of Employers, presented at annual meeting in Christchurch '»'_s. Saturday. "This is a very serious matter, not only for boys who have finished their schooling and those who have spent a year or two in technical schools in ■' their endeavours to fit themselves to take up positions as apprentices in the skilled trades, but also for the Dominion as a whole, as it is essential that the supply of skilled tradesmen for the future should be maintained. "The following figures, which are taken from the Department of Labour's annual report, disclose that, in all trades in the year 1928, the registered apprentices totalled 10,227. and in 1934 only 4303 boys were apprenticed under the Apprentices Act: 1928, 10,227; 1929, 9943; 1930, 9826; 1931, 8901; 1832, 6910; 1933, 5594; 1934, 4303. "Many requests have been made to the Government for the repeal ot the Apprentices Act, and it was expected that the matter would be brought forward by the Government during 1934, but owing to a dif" -Uty arising in the way of the Government initiating legislation to repeal the Apprentices Act petitions were prepared by the New Zealand Employers' Federation for the signature of employers, which were obtained, and the petitions presented toward the end of the last session of Parliament in 1934. "The Government decided that evidence of employers should be'taken, l--' in view of the fact that Parliament was going into recess almost immediately, it was deemed inadvisable to proceed with the evidence. "The matter was further considered by the New Zealand Employers' Federation annual conference held on October 24, 1934, and it was decided that a conference of the Employers' Association secretaries from the four main centres, together with the secretary to the New Zealand Employers' Federation, should be held to consider the preparation of a draft of a proposed new' Apprentices Act. Copies of the draft have been distributed, and on receipt of the comments from the various trade organisations throughout the Dominion it is expected the New Zealand Employers' Federation'will proceed fur« thcr with the matter." Th president, Mr D. H. Taylor, of Wellington, discussed the subject in his address. He said much had been heard from employers in various industries about the difficulties they had to face when engaging apprentices but it had been found that conditions were similar in other countries. Th conference approved the proposals dealing with anprenticeship v/hic 1 ! had been submitted by the New Zealand Employers' Federation. "—---'-' -- -- -"- ■—