APPRENTICES ACT

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 97, 19 January 1926, Page 8

APPRENTICES ACT

ADVANTAGES BECOMING APPARENT By Telegraph—Special CoueDsPonDentAuckland, Januaiy 18. Parents are beginning fo realise the value of tbe opportunities created by the Apprentices Act of having their boys placed as apprentices in trades, and already this year !)5 applications have been received by tho Auckland office of the Department of Labour from boys de-irous of being apprenticed. Tho Apprentices Act provides that li-admasters must advise f no Department of Labour of boys leaving school, and fimn reports received the officers of the Department have been able to gain a fair idea of their qualifications and tendencies. Circulars are then sent out to parents of boys who a/e about to commence work and applications from those who desire to enter th? trades follow. By this means, hoys are aide to state their preference for a particular trade, and it is then tho duty of th? Department of Labour to endeavour io place them satisfactorily. Applications received so far relate to the following trades:—Bricklaying, five boys; carpentering, 16; engineering (general) eight; electrical, eight; motor, 16; furniture, 9; plastoringj eight; plumbing, 18; printing, four; and siguwriting, three. Some boys have already been placed with employers who hav? stated their requirements to the Department, and others will bo accommodated as vacancies are notified.

Last year over IGO boys were found apprenticeships by (lie Department, and now that tire scheme is becoming more generally known, very satisfactory results are expected. While headmasters and the officers of the Department have carried out their part under the Act to the point of searching out the boys most likely to find their life’s work in trades, it remains for employers to make known any openings they may have. A few have done this with very satisfactory results, and when an employer as a matter of course applies io the Department for an apprentice, the system will prove of the greatest value to the industry, and at the same iimo save many potential first-class tradesmen from drifting into "blind alley” occupations.