TRAINING OF PLUMBERS Reply To Mr D. W. Lyall

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28531, 10 March 1958, Page 7

TRAINING OF PLUMBERS Reply To Mr D. W. Lyall

The leading article in the New Zealand Plumbers’ Association’s journal, criticising certain aspects of daylight training of apprentices at technical centres, was designed to offer constructive criticism about a situation which had caused the association great concern, said Mr A. G, Woods, president of the North Canterbury Master Plumbers’ Association, in a reply to criticism of the article by Mr D. W. Lyall, principal of the Christchurch Technical College.

“As one who attended the recent plumbers’ conference in Dunedin, I feel that 1 connot let Mr Lyall’s scathing condemnation of the leading article of the February issue of the New Zealand Plumbers’ Association’s journal pass without making some comment,” he said. “Mr Lyall compares the examination of the Trade Certification Board with that of the Plumbers' Board. We readily agree that the results here have nothing to do with teaching, and nobody knows better than Mr Lyall that the over-all type of candidate in this later section is totally different from that of the Certification Board,” he said.

“Mr Lyall also states that the examiner (who is also the editor) did not say that teaching was not up to standard in some parts of New Zealand, but that teaching in general was bad, and he commented that this was a foolish and incorrect statement. In his report the examiner stated that in two or three instances a very high standard had been achieved, but had he included this in his article perhaps we would not have had such strong comments from Mr Lyall, and the whole matter could possibly have been forgotten. “But now, the situation has been brought out into the open, and it is hoped that all concerned will derive some satisfactory improvement on a national basis. After all, only 133 passed out in theory, of a total of 425 candidates, and this warrants some investigation. And this I feel was the ultimate meaning behind the leading article. “Mr Lyall knows that my association hold him and his staff in very high regard, and we count ourselves very fortunate indeed to have men of such calibre who have maintained such a high standard in our local centre,” he said.

“I am pleased,” said Mr Woods, “to see that a special meeting of the board is being held to discuss this matter. May the faults be found wherever they may lie, as to find them must immeasurably help our industry, particularly those districts less fortunate than our own.”