RETURNED MEN’S JOBS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 120, 16 February 1944, Page 7

RETURNED MEN’S JOBS

Adjustment Necessary For

Girl Workers Released

In view of the fact that girls and women in wartime positions' are already being displaced by returning men, the executive of the New Zealand Vocational Guidance Association recently submitted recommendations to the Department of Education and asked that the widest possible publicity be given them. It requested that girls and women in wartime employment, such as iu the Public Service, the Armed Forces, Laud Army or in occupations likely to be resumed by men demobilized now or later, or in temporarily essential industries, be asked to consider the following:— How long their present employment is likely to last after the return of men in any considerable number or after the termination of hostilities; what occupations they desire to follow if their services cease to be required by their present employers; whether they possess the qualifications and training required for such occupations or whether they have lost the skill they had previously acquired. . . The Vocational Guidance Association considers that these girls and women should he urged now to look ahead and prepare for the conditions that are certain to confront women even before hostilities cease and that they should feel it their duty to qualify themselves to tackle a useful job in the post-war world. , Th? further suggestion was made that girls and women be informed of the following facts: —That the technical colleges and schools of art provided evening classes in a wide variety of subjects; that both these courses and those of tlie Government correspondence school were free of charge to all members of the forces and of the Land Army as well as to those still eligible for free places in the usual way, i.e., those who had not attended a state secondary school for a period Of five years or who were under the age of nineteen; that the fees payable by those not eligible for free education were low and that any- paying student under 21 years of age paid half fees only; that students might prepare in this way for any trade br profession except those requiring a university degree. Educational and occupational information of all kinds many be obtained from vocational guidance centres, including information concerning university bursaries and other concessions available to members of the services.