Help likely for job scheme

Press, 8 September 1982, Page 6

Help likely for job scheme

A farm-work training project at Bottle Lake Forest Park will probably receive Christchurch City Council financial help. The council's job-creation working party was told yesterday that $18,700 would be needed to construct buildings, fences, yards, and other facilities for the project, which will take about 10 trainees at a time for up to a year.

Trainees will learn how to work with crops and stock at the plantation north of the citv.

More specialised training may be done later at the City Council's airport sheep farm.

The working party agreed with Cr Rex Lester that any peripheral activities at the training unit, such as demon-

strations for the public, should be delayed. “The development of work habits is good." said Cr Lester. "but we don't want it to become just a visitor attraction." Trainees should not be distracted from their work. Problems A pilot literacy programme will be started soon at Hagley High School for young persons whose reading and writing problems are obstacles to learning employment skills and finding jobs. A recent study had shown “an alarmingly high percentage" of workers on the council’s Bottle Lake forestry training project with reading and writing deficiencies. The Hagley . High School course will also concentrate on social skills.

Tourism training A special meeting on teaching skills to boost the tourism industry will be held by the working party. ’ Learning how to treat tourists properly would produce skills required by a wide variety of service industries. said employment promotion officers. Comments made by tourists indicated that New Zealand needed a “dramatic improvement” in professional service at all levels and the training of guides and hostesses, said a council report on youth training and employment. “The industry is too important to leave to individual businesses." the report said. Flexibility Guidelines on work skills development should be more

flexible across New Zealand, said Cr Vicki Buck, the working party's chairman. Skills training should be available to all young persons. not just those with special problems, she said. Christchurch had been able to set high standards in innovative training projects be : cause the Labour Department had "interpreted guidelines liberally” in this area, she said. Things allowed in Christchurch should be "the norm, rather than the exception." The private sector should also be given more incentives to provide additional training jobs. Cr Buck said.

Cr Lester said that local authorities that had proved eager to promote job creation should be given more autonomy in approving new projects.