SOLDIERS IN TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 76, 31 March 1922, Page 7

SOLDIERS IN TRADE

WORK OF TRAINING

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

In view of recent criticism by Mr. H. Holland, M.P., of the work of the Repatriation Department in training returned soldiers in trades, some particulars given in the latest .Repatriation Department report are of special interest. ' "In addition to 1413 stndenta who have been assisted financially with, grants for the payment of fees and the purchase of textbooks (states the Teport) the Department has arranged vocational training for 6004 partially disabled soldiers, apprentices, etc., and 5584 of this number have completed their courses, and have been absorbed in various industries. There are still 420 men being trained by the Department, but at the present rate of absorption the majority of these should be settled in their re.speetive vocations before the end of the year. There will still remain the dischargees from hospitals to be provided .for; and possibly a few medical and divinity students at Otago University and Knox College (most, of whom are being assisted by way of loan), but beyond this the end of the Repatriation vocational training scheme is in sight. It will thus be opportune to quote figures indicating the results obtained in relatidn to the amount expended upon the provision of facilities for training and for the sustenance of trainees. VERY FEW "DRIFTERS." "The amount expended to date is £382,022,, and as 6897 men have finished their courses, the average cost of each trainee is £55. The success achieved may be guaged by the fact that no fewer than. 6,290 men, "or 91 per cent, of the total completed their courses satisfactorily and were absorbed. We believe that this percentage would be creditable, if applied to ordinary indentured apprentices, but it certainly is a most, eloquent tribute to the grit and determination of a body of men, the majority of whom were suffering war disabilities so severe as to preclude the. resumption of their pre-war occupations. When we deduct from the 607 men who discontinued training before the completion of ■ the course, the number who were unfortunately compelled to give up on account of ill-health, it is quite evident that the men who proved to-be 'drifters' were very few Tn number—certainly not more than 5 per cent, at the outside. So far ,as these men are concerned, the Department cannot guarantee that the trainee will not change over to other work within his capacity if there is sufficient financial inducement to do so, uor can it give an assurance that on the jcompletion' of the course he will accept 'work with the firm or in the district in ■which he has been trained. After all, the figures given prove that there are not very many ca-ses of this', description. In some trades the position may not be quite so good as in others. SELECTING SUITABLE TRADES. "The majority of the, trainees have received their instruction in private workshops and factories, the wage paid by the employer being; subsidised by the Department. Particular care is exercised in the selection of suitable trades, and. by Order in Council' it is proved, that the suitability of the men for the trade nmsfc be determined by the Industrial Committee of the Repatriation Board. Before a permit is issued the industrial union concerned is' given an opportunity of expressing its views on the case and the wage of the trainee is fixed by a wages, committee consisting of representatives of the Repatriation' Department,., the employer, and the industrial union. The collaboration of the union officials ensures that a trade is not loadeS beyond its- capacity to absorb trainees, and also guards against men being placed in trades with no outlook. It is also obvious that it would have been impossible to absorb some thousands of men in the various trades and industries without the sympathetic cooperations' of the industrial unions. Just as it is inrpossible to guarantee that the trainee will complete' his course, so it is impossible to obtain an assurance from the employer that an ex-trainee will, not be put off in a time of trade depression. This is a question which has;caused the Department some anxiety during the, recent slump, but happily such cases are few in number, and we are usually able to pla-ce the men with other employers in the same- line of business. -On several occasions we have stated that one great advantage of the Department's subsidy scheme-is the fact that a trainee once placed under it is virtually repatriated as the employer in nearly every case retains his services as a journeyman. Bearing on this we find that of the 75----men who completed training during the past month 14" have been trained as fanners and are taking up laud under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act. The remaining 61 were subsidised work-, era, and 45 of these arc remaining as journeymen with the firms under -whom they were trained, 4 have oeen. placed with other firms in the same trade, 4 have entered into business on their own account, 3 have been obliged to discontinue training owing tt> ill-health, and 4 discontinued for private reasons. One man (a motor mechanic)-who completed training has lost his job through slackness of trade. The Department has placed him temporarily in other employment, and he will re-enter the trade a-s opportunity offers. A GOOD RECORD. "We believe that the record of thft New Zealand Repatriation Department in connection with the training of discharged soldiers, both in regard to the_ percentage who have completed their courses and have been absorbed in the industrial ranks, and in relation to theindividual cost (£55 per trainee) is second to none. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. "Loans to assist discharged soldiers to establish themselves in businesses or professions have been granted in 6087 cases, at a cost of £1,125,713. A further 14,134 men have received advances totalling £677,481 for the purchase of., household furniture'or.tools-of-trarle, and 4130 have been, grafted financial assistance in other directions, the amount paid to or oh behalf of soldiers tinder all headings being £2,197,956."