“BLIND ALLEY” BOYS

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 April 1924, Page 3

“BLIND ALLEY” BOYS

ATTEMPTS TO*HELp THEM. One of the deepest concerns; o£ those who were responsible for tne framing of the Apprentices Act, stated the Secretary of Labour (Mr F. W. Rowley last evening when explaining the Act to a public meeting of those interested, was the drift oi boys leaving school into the blind alley—that was into unskilled occupations, which could lead them nowhere. The 'larger wages ottered for unskilled occupations and the comparatively small wages offered in the skilled trades—-led many of the boys to disregard the future for tn© present. Another reason was that most boys nowadays, objected to being bound down for a set number of years, whereas in unskilled occupations there is no need to be bound down. The Apprentices Act made conditions better for the apprentices. Giving, some statistics of the number of boys who had entered tiie blind alley Mr Rowley said that figures for the whole of New Zealand had not yet been compiled, but were being collected by the Department. Grevmouth, he noticed, was

fairly free of the blind alley evil as far as the boys who left school last year were concerned. There were 19 boys wishing to be placed in trades who had not yet been accommodated. Mr P, Hambleton: Do they specify the trades? “I don’t think sp,” said Mr Rowley. “Do you want some to take up engineering?” , “No, moulding!” replied Mr Hambleton. “I’m afraid moulding is a little unpopular,” said Mr Rowley. Continuing his remarks' about the drift into the blind alley, Air Rowley appealed to the tradesmen to take apprentices and so give the boys who were in the drift an opportunity of diverting their attention to useful occupations. He stated that there were in Greymouth 36 carpenters, 8 bricklayers 'and 10 painters not covered by award conditoiis, and there were amongst these tradesmen not many apprentices. In plumbing, on the other hand there were eight apprentices (o seven journeymen. Favourable conditions for the training of apprentices in the plumbing trade would not prevail until the Greymouth Borough Council came into line with other municipal bodies and required that plumbers

should be licensed. Some of the apprentices in Greymouth were learning how to make spouting and guttering, but they were not learning proper plumbing. Referring to the proportion' of apprentices to journeymen in the plumbing trade, Mr R. Seddon asked what the remedy would be. Mr Rowley replied that it might be all right to have an apprentice to each journeyman, but they had not faculties for learning. A question was asked by Mr O’Farrell a$ to whetlier two boys '.belonging to a family in poor circumstances would have) their wmges subsidised if they took up an apprenticeship in some trade. Mr Rowley said that was not in the bill, but if the committee which would be set up under the Act made representations on the matter to the Minister of Labour, the (suggestion

would be considered/ Mr Hambleton said that many boys were under the impression that three years at a. technical school entitled them to have that period deducted from their apprenticeship. He would not take boys into the Dispatch Foundry under these conditions and he did not think they would be taken under those conditions anywhere. Mr Rowley said that it had nothing to do with the Apprentices Act. The practice was allowed under the Inspection of Machinery Act. Tn answer to further questions Mr Rowley outlined a scheme by which it was hoped to save boys of 18 and 19 and onwards who had drifted into the blind alley. He said that in Sydney a number of youths entered a bricklaying class established by one of the firms and in three months time from 90 to 100 were able to lay 710 to 800 bricks in a. day. They had not learned all that was to be learned about brick-

laying, buX ’ i>t showed what loouhl be done in a short period. His proposal was that each of the trades should establish a school. It would perhaps be better than the Technical School, as many of the trades were not taught there. Young men who had been working at unskilled occupations for years could also he helped by being apprenticed to some trade in special terms. Where it was felt that there was a danger of a gen-* eral drift into unskilled occupations, it might be possible to introduce legislation whereby boys, undertaking unskilled labour should first receive a permit from the Registrar of Awards. 'That permit would be declined if it were possible to find the boy employment in a useful occupation ; but the

regulation would of course always be exercised reasonably. There might be circumstances which justified a boy taking up an, unskilled job, and the case would always be considered on its merits. There, was no reason why this compulsion should not be introduced and a boy was compelled to go to school until he was 14, but after that under the present conditions, could do what he liked.