BUILDING TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1942, Page 4

BUILDING TRADE

FEWER BOYS LEARNING

Basing .his con.clv.slc.ns on the ma> bers of men engaged in the different industries and on the numbers of pupils enrolled in the classes at the Wellington Technical College for those industries, the director of the college (Mr. R. G. Railing), in a report presented to the Board of Governors of the college last night, said that there was a surplus enrolment for the engineering and allied trades and a very serious deficiency in the building and allied trades.

"Employment in Wellington may differ somewhat from the general average throughout New Zealand," said Mr. Ridling, "but it should be quite clear from the figures given that some effort should be made to overcome the serious deficiency for training for building trades. I believe that the tendency of boys to enrol for engineering trades is governed by two factor?: — (1) That almost all boys are interested in machines; (2) that parents regard the building industry as being not so secure as engineering and its allied

trades.

'"Employment in sections oi the building industry is subject to variations in the weather, and parents consequently do not always encourage boys who may be interested to take up the work. With the housing problem such as it is in most, of the towns and with development work that must take place after the war, the demand for builders will be very great. Employers' and employees' associations should give serious thought to the present lack of interest in their industry and see whether conditions cannot be modified in some way so that young people may be attracted towards this necessary national work."