Travelling Tutor For Farm Cadets Suggested

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31134, 10 August 1966, Page 7

Travelling Tutor For Farm Cadets Suggested

The annual meeting of the Canterbury Farm Training Council decided to recommend to the incoming council that it ask the Government to arrange for itinerant tutors to help farm cadets and young fanners.

The proposal was made to the meeting bv the retiring chairman, Mr H. E. L. Pickering, M.P., after he had listened to remarks made by Mr G. B. McLeod. Mr McLeod said that he had become increasingly aware of the lack of interest in agricultural education in secondary school. Some schools that had once said they had an agricultural bias were now soft pedalling on this. There was a big gap between secondary school and the agricultural college, and he suggested that there was a need for greater provision for the “in betweeners,” who might hot have the academic qualifications and ability to attend an agricultural college but who had it in their souls to do the right thing by the land.

It was his feeling that these boys could be best taught out on the land and perhaps by someone who went out and met them under a group arrangement. Mr McLeod also expressed some concern that Technical Correspondence School courses, which cadets are expected to take, were geared for people who were likely to go on to agricultural colMr G. R. Lyall said that members of the staffs of agricultural colleges helped to write these courses.

Earlier Mr Pickering said it was Mr McLeod’s idea that they should aim towards having a travelling tutor. Such a tutor might go out to a small town and get together three or four or up to 10 young men for tutorials, or he might conduct instruction on farms. This could be the next step in the evolution of a sound training scheme. National Scheme Mr Pickering said that the national farm cadet scheme had made an auspicious beginning. He had had some vague unease about this system initially. He had felt that if the expert professional advice of vocational guidance officers was not used in deciding whether young men should go into training schemes there could be misdirection. However, Federated Farmers had shown great wisdom in utilising to the full other organisations like the Vocational Guidance- Service and Department of Agriculture. Schemes were not rigid and they could be highly successful and of great benefit to the country. Speaking personally, Mr Pickering said that while the farm training institute had a place for the rural boy who needed some extra academic instruction, it was not so suitable for the town boy as an

introduction to farming. Here the need was for the individual farm and the family unit to give the ideal atmosphere. Farm cadets needed to go to the individual farm and to have good farmer tutors. Wage Scale

The meeting confirmed the recommendations of a sub committee of the council which has been studying the conditions of employment and wages paid to cadets. The sub-committee proposed a minimum wage scale, which it said it believed that all farmers should observe. This included payment of £7 gross a week and found for cadets aged 16 years and under 17 years, £B, aged 17 and under 18, £9, aged 18 and under 19, £lO, aged 19 and under 20, £ll, aged 20 and under 21 years, and £l2, aged 21 years and over. The sub-committee expressed the opinion that age and experience within the cadetship should be accompanied by progressive increases in wages. Merit and improved performance should be recognised by a stated increase in weekly wages rather than by bonuses. Hours Of Work Cadets should not be expected to work for more than 50 hours a week and when they worked extra time this should be recognised by extra hourly nay or the equivalent time off, irrespective of the weekly wage or any perquisites. The sub-committee said that some farmers might care to exceed the minimum wage rates laid down, but thev should not set a scale which would be difficult for subsequent employers to match. Mr Pickering said that confirmation of the report meant that not only were minimum wage rates now set down but also certain basic conditions of employment Farmer tutors would be advised of this and they would he able to decide whether thev wanted a boy. Mr Pickering and some other sneakers said that they had heard only favourable comments from farmers about the proposed wage rates.

The meeting was told that the principal of Lincoln College, Dr. M. M. Burns, had accepted a proposal of a deputation from the council that the college should accept into the diploma courses some cadets who did not have school certificate. The secretary of the council, Mr D. H. Crabb, had said that only those cadets with a good academic record

would be recommended, said Mr Pickering. Dr. Burns had indicated that only limited numbers of these students would be accepted—perhaps three or four. It had been the experience of the college that students without school certificate had difficulty with the diploma course. Visit* To Cadets The district vocational guidance officer, Mr W. J. Boyd, told an earlier meeting of the executive of the council that he felt they were not keeping in touch with cadets on farms in the way that they should and would like to. He was not able to give the secretary, who is a member of the staff of the Vocational Guidance Centre, the amount of time away from the centre he would like to. he said, and he had in mind that in the coming year that vocational guidance officers on school visits might visit cadets after school hours.

The annual meeting subsequently approved a resolution urging that the secretary should be assisted with visits to cadets by other vocational guidance officers whenever the opportunity offered.

The meeting approved that representation should be given on the council to MidCanterbury Federated Farmers. as well as the North Canterbury province, as numbers of cadets are on farms in Mid-Canterbury, and the secretary was also asked to continue his approach to the Christchurch Technical Institute about representation on the council. New Chairman

Mr S. E. Chappell was appointed to succeed Mr Pickering as chairman. Mr Pickering said he wanted to give up the position because of his inability to give adequate time to it, but he agreed to accept the deputy chairmanship. The executive was appointed to include Mr P. R. Barrer and a representative each of Lincoln College, the Country Women’s Institute and the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers. Mr Boyd announced that as from this meeting Mr Crabb would be succeeded as secretary by Mr A. McFarlane. Mr Boyd said that Mr Crabb had done a fine job both for the council and the Vocational Guidance Centre.