MANY AVENUES TO THE TOP POST OFFICE JOBS

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28481, 10 January 1958, Page 16

MANY AVENUES TO THE TOP POST OFFICE JOBS

ATANY boys and girls do not " x know with certainty at 15 or 16 just what kind of work is likely to suit them. The Post Office provides a means of combining continuity of employment with an opportunity to select a career when experience and maturity have helped to solve this all-important question.

Because the Post Office is such a widespread organisation it can, arrange for the transfer of its employees from one town to another. Every year many officers are transferred at their own request. Amenities A wide range of privileges and staff amenities is available to Post Office" employees. The more important are:— A generous sick leave system. A sick benefit fund. A co-operative welfare fund. A superannuation scheme. A staff welfare organisation. Cafeterias in the larger centres. Recreation rooms. Provision, through the members’ own welfare fund, of holiday accommodation at nominal rentals. An industrial nurse at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. A modern and properly equipped correspondence school. Staff training schools. Lodging allowances for junior officers living away from home. Generous retiring leave. Low Intake The intake of juniors for many years has been substantially below normal. It has been necessary to fill the gap with adult recruits, practically all of whom will be retired long before the junior recruits taken on now.

In 10 years’ time, half of all the officers classed above the rank and file will be retired. The general upsurge to fill all those vacancies will naturally have a great effect on the position of junior officers. Promotion from the Second Division, which is the normal method of entry to the department, to the First Division (Cleri-

cal) is very rapid. Any worthwhile junior who qualifies by examination can gain entry to

the First Division almost immediately. A feature of Post Office employment is that the traditional promotion system still permits ybung men and women with no special educational qualifications to aspire to the top positions, excluding only those where a university degree or a diploma is an obvious pre-requisite, such as in engineering or top-rank accounting positions. A boy with two years’ secondary education would commence on telegram delivery duties at a salary of £285 (£5 9s 4d) a week. In addition, he would re-

l ceive uniform and waterproof c clothing and an allowance for i the use of his bicycle. » On passing an examination he i would be eligible for promotion t to the First Division (Clerical) with annual increments up to I £765 a year, then on completion I of a further departmental exami- ■ nation and satisfactory service to ■ £BlO and £B5O a year.

Promotion

The fact that nearly every Chief Postmster commenced his Post Office career as a telegraph message, boy indicates the. promotion prospects in this field. Girls may also commence on telegram delivery duties at a salary of £2BO a year (£5 7s 5d a week). These girls graduate mainly to toll operators, machineprinting typists or telephonists. They may also qualify for the First Division. Boys with School Certificate or University Entrance would begin in the First Division (Clerical) at a salary of £375 and £425 a year respectively.