A VITAL PROBLEM

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 119, 16 November 1926, Page 10

A VITAL PROBLEM

YOUTHS LEAVING SCHOOL WELFARE OF DOMINION'S FUTURE INDUSTRIES ' ADDRESS BY MR. F. W. ROWLEY. A subject of unusual interest was dealt with by Mr. F. W. Rowley, Secretary of Labour and Registrar of Apprentices, at the Wellington Rotary Club luncheon to-day. Speaking with wide knowledge an(l long practical experience of this as of other labour problems, Mr. Rowley emphasised the importance of the subject both in the interests of tho boys as well as of the future . industries of New Zealand. The welfare of boys, said Mr. Rowley, was one in which the Rotary Club was specially interested, and he asked those pnyent to give their support to what the Department of Labour is attempting to do in the way of giving guidance and assistance to boys in regard to the occupations that they should take up. He pointed out that the matter was of very great importance not only to the boys themselves, as the choice of a wrong or uncongenial occupation often spoiled what otherwise would be a happy and prosperous life; but it was of great importance also to the industries of tho Dominion generally. The directions in which boys go when seeking employment might be divided-into three, namely, commercial and professional occupations on the one side; primary and secondary industries on another (that was to say, in skilled trades, and so on); and unskilled or blind-ally occupations. It was considered, said Mr. Rowley, that there was plenty of encouragement and assistance given to boys to take up professional and commercial occupations. What was wanted was to steer a fair proportion of boys into the second group, so that they may become qualified in the important primary and secondary industries of the Dominion, and, after all, the prosperity of the community depended upon these. In the past it had been complained that thertf was a serious dearth of skilled labour in New Zealand for the skilled manufacturing trades, especially building, and the Apprentices' Act was designed, amonget other things, to enable the Department to get into touch with the boys as they leave school, and to give them advice and assistance, particularly in the direction of taking up the primary and secondary industries. DEPARTMENT'S ACTION. The Department had therefore for the past three years obtained reports from the head teachers of the primary schools in the principal towns of tho Dominion; and then communicated with the boys and their parent, inviting applications to the Department for advice and assistance. The Department's officers had made it known to the employers in tho various manufacturing industries throughout these towns by means of advertisements, circulars, and otherwise, that they had a large number of boys applying to them, and inviting the employers to approach the Department for the boys they might require. This was the particular aspect of tho question upon which the speaker- said he wished to address the members of the. Rotary Club. Contrary to expectation, the response from employers right throughout the Dominion,"had been very small; and although the Department had repeated the endeavour each year very little improvement so far had been brought about. For example, in Wellington City in 1924 only five employers approached tho Department's office; and in 1926, 29 applied, but even then only six vacancies were filled. In Auckland 271 boys applied last year, but only 16 employers responded to the invitation to obtain boys at the office. This position had *resnlted in keen disappointment to the boys and their parents; and unless employers could be prevailed upon to utilise the services of the officers of the Department, the scheme would no doubt fall through. REASONS FOR FAILURE. In looking for the reason for the failure or indifference of employers on the subject, it might be mentjoned that some of the outside organisations, a number of which had also made attempts to get into touch ■ with the schoolboys and to placo them with suitable employers, and some of them had not met with much success. In Christchurch, for example, tho Gordon Hall Trust made a point of visiting schools round about Christchurch for several years past, and had also endeavoured to placu boys; and a good deal of disappointment had been felt amongst the boys because it was found there were no openings with employers for them. The result was that the disappointed boys drifted into the first vacancies that might be found, and these were often in the unskilled blind-alley occupations. It was stated that the Gordon Hall Trust was always receiving the names of boys desiring to enter trades, but for whom there were no openings. The report of the Trust went on to say that the result would no doubt bo that skilled labour would bo imported from abroad at the expense of our own youths, who would fill the ranks of unskilled labour. ATTITUDE OF EMPLOYERS. No doubt many employers would say that the reason for their failure to take on boys was that the restrictions upon the employment of apprentices were too harassing or irksome, especially in regard to the proportion of apprentices to journeymen. It was difficult to understand how the proportion of apprentices as fixed by the Court of Arbitration could have this effect, because the figures gathered by the Department throughout New Zealand went to show that in practically every skilled trade where the proportion of apprentices was fixed, employers as a whole did not employ anything like the number that the greatest proportion would allow. Perhaps the employers would say, that apart from the question of proportion, apprentices were too much trouble; that they were perhaps not sufficiently amenable to discipline; and possibly they considered that they were not worth the wages that they were required to pay; and that altogether they felt that they could not be bothered with them. If they were asked where the future supply of skilled labour for their industries was to come from, some of them would perhaps say, with a shrug of the shoulders: "We will just have to do the best we en.ii; and if necessary wo can import the slcillcd labour required." It was perhaps natural enough that employers who were in keen competition with one another, such as those engaged in tendering in the building trade, could not afford to employ boys as apprentices if those boys were not profitable to them; they must cut down their costs to tho utmost extent in order to compete with other builders. FUTURE OF SKILLED INDUSTRIES. There were no doubt these and other fairly good reasons why employers were not anxious to employ (is many boys as they were entitled to take on, but the fact remained that the present position would not result in the good

of the country or of the industries themselves. Mr. Rowley stated that he heard oiie employer say that the question was; a very serious one indeed for the public in the future, but employers at the moment were more or less indifferent because they could carry on their woirk with whatever labour was. available without worrying themselves about what the labour would be in tho Ha-' ture; and they must charge for t3ie work done at whatever it cost them, whether it was good or bad; and so long as employers in the industry were all on an equal footing as regarded tie quality of the labour available they were not after all very much concerned. THE PUBLIC INTEREST. The question, therefore, appeared U> be one 'for the public interest; but t^l3 speaker urged members of the Rotaiy Club, especially those who were erhiployers in manufacturing industries, So seriously consider tho question in ito broader aspect, and to come forward wit', advice and assistance to overcome the difficulties presented. He therefore suggested that a committee of tlio»3 specially interested in the subject should be set up *to co-operate witjli the Department's officers. Mr. Rowlejy explained that tho Department was already acting in conjunction with the Boys' Institute, V.M.C.A., and Toe H, which were all interested in promoting the welfare of the boys, and he suggesbed that representatives of employed from the Rotaryv Club might associate themselves with the committee that ha<fi been set up. A hearty vote of thanks was acconlcd to Mr. Rowley for his address. : It was resolved that the question t»f the -employment of boys on leavinig school be referred to the Boys' Conjjmittees of all Rotary Clubs throughovtf; the Dominion.