WAYS TO ATTRACT APPRENTICES

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28835, 4 March 1959, Page 7

WAYS TO ATTRACT APPRENTICES

Painters’ Guild Discussion

Ways of attracting boys of a higher standard as apprentices to the painting, decorating, and signwriting trades were discussed at the annual conference of the New Zealand Guild of Master Painters, Decorators and Signwriters, yesterday. _ Mr J. Irvine (Marlborough) brought forward a remit suggesting that a brochure be produced giving a clear statement of the advantages to be gained by entering these trades, which would be sent to vocational guidance officers and school careers masters throughout the country. Boys should be encouraged to attend the daylight training school, he said.

Mr E. G. Bridges (Wanganui) said that previous attempts had been made to produce a brochure for the trades, but these had fallen through because of lack of finance. “However,” he said, “we need to encourage brighter boys to enter the trade, and a brochure may help to change the minds of some.”

Mr R. Hall (Gisborne) said that good books were published by the Government on the trades, which were available to vocational guidance officers throughout the country. He felt a brochure was unnecessary because of this. These books could be supplemented by local interest, he said. In Gisborne, guild members had visited schools, spoken to boys, and shown them jobs in various stages of completion, with the result that more apprentices had been placed in the last year than ever before. At this stage, discussion was adjourned until after a meeting of the apprenticeship committee.