OCCUPATIONS FOR GIRLS

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25955, 8 November 1949, Page 3

OCCUPATIONS FOR GIRLS

SPEAKERS ADDRESS v PARENTS

descriptions of the conditions indifferent occupations to which girls would go when they left school were riven by eight speakers at a meeting nf the Avonside Girls’ High School Parent-Teacher Association last evenjig. There were more than 160 preis a wonderful age for young people leaving school,” said Miss Knowles. who spoke about dressmaking tailoring, salesmanship and buying’ ‘‘There are very many positions for them to choose from. These days a girl who is willing and who is ambitious will get a tremendous amount of encouragement. A girl with a sense of responsibility is quickly recognised and promotion comes quickly,” she added. Miss Knowles said dressmaking had become a creative art. In the selling line a girl could develop her personality. A lot of girls got married, Miss Knowles continued, but that did not matter, because the knowledge gained —line, colour combination and value—would be of value in planning a home and give her confidence. Mrs G. Pope, who spoke about millinery, supported Miss Knowles’s remarks about the opportunities for giris. Millinery was a wonderfully interesting career. For millinery, girls must have a creative desire, she said. “I often think that the training a girl gets in an office equips her very well for married life,” said Miss D. Chapman, who gave details of general and specialist office work. She described clerical work, general office jobs, and the work of bookkeepers and typists, and said from those positions a girl could go a long way. Neatness, correct spelling and punctuation were all qualifications.

Nursing required a high standard of ideals, but did not demand that a woman sacrificed her life for social drudgery, said Sister Carter, whose subject was nursing. A sense of her calling, technical skill and an understanding of the patient’s needs were required. Modern drugs and techniques had entirely changed the nursing world. Generally a nurse’s basic training was done in public hospitals and the course occupied four years. During that period of general training a girl had an opportunity of observing the many avenues of specialised nursing. Conditions were quite attractive in comparison with the past, and nurses were permitted a great deal more freedom than in the past. Librarianship was the subject of Miss S. Leech. A girl needed a good educational background, and should obtain the library training certificate, for without that certificate there were no opportunities for advancement. The work done in a library included classifying, cataloguing, as well as work in the circulating department and office. Miss Leech said. Patience and understanding were lust as important as fondness, said Miss G. Partington, speaking about kindergarten work. A girl must be at least 17 with three years’ secondary education, and would have to complete a training course. Health was important, she added. There were good holidays and salaries on the material side, but teaching was more than a means of earning a living, said Miss G. Riddle. She appealed to parents not to let their children go into blind-alley jobs. “For a girl who has a love of children and a commonsense everyday psychology, here is a vocation,” said Sister V. Sinclair, who spoke about Christian Youth Work. There was the training of teachers for Bible classes, recreati °nal schools to be done. Never could I have found such satisfaction, joy and comradeship,” Sister Sinclair added. X