To aid contracting

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32774, 26 November 1971, Page 13

To aid contracting

It' is hoped to hold courses at Lincoln College in the middle of next year for agricultural contractors and chemical applicator contractors. and also for their employees. This is the outcome of a meeting held in Wellington in October between representatives of the national committees of the agricultural contractors’ section and the chemical applicators’ section of the New Zealand Contractors’ Federation and the Vocational Training Council, the Industrial Training Service of the Department of Labour, and the New Zealand Technical Correspondence Institute. The aim of the courses will be to help frnprove the standard and image of the contracting industry, and also to raise its efficiency at a time when with the farming industry facing more difficult times contractors are also faced with economic difficulties. Lincoln College has been approached to organise and supervise a residential, training course for agricultural and chemical applicator contractors and their senior administrative staff from May 8 to 12 next veai. It is proposed that instruction should cover market surveys, records and office management, financing of equipment, etc., costing, budget control, problem solving, public relations, staff control, and motivation and safety. Mr B. A. Murray, of Christchurch, chairman of the national committee of agricultural contractors and also the chairman of the Canterbury branch of the agricultural contractors’ section of the Contractors* Federation, says that particular emphasis is being put on.this course for own-er-operators and managers of contracting businesses as it was felt that if this sector, of the industry

was sound, then they could move to the employees. A further residential training course at Lincoln College is also being sought for the period from May 17 to 19 or during a week-end in June or July for employees of agricultural and chemical applicator contractors with instruction in the maintenance of agricultural and chemical spraying equipment, records (time sheets, daily dockets, etc.), trade calculations, safety, and safe and efficient use of agricultural chemicals. It is believed that about 30 or 40 persons would attend each course, which would be open to contractors and their employees from all parts of New Zealand. It is also hoped to organise similar courses in the North Island, at Massey University. Mr Murray said that contractors wanted to convince farmers that they could do their work more cheaply than they could do i it themselves, and also more efficiently; and it was hoped that these courses would further this object. For several years, Mr Murray said, the Technical Correspondence Institute had been offering correspondence courses in the maintenance and operation of agricultural equipment It would like to see more contractors go into this, but had obtained the impression from some people that these courses had tended to be a little too basic. It had also been suggested that short residential block courses be held to enable persons taking correspondence courses to complete themUnder the auspices of the Canterbury branch of the agricultural contractors’ section of the Contractors* Federation, Mr Murray said, members had recently

attended an evening on tractor maintenance at Gough, Gough, and Hamer, Ltd. There had previously been courses on tractor hydraulics arranged by C. B. Norwood, Ltd, on balers put on by Cable-Price Corporation and on header harvesters at Lincoln College, arranged by A. M. Bisley and Company, Ltd.