The Grey River Argus FRIDAY. February 18, 1944. SERVICEMEN AND TRADE TRAINING.

Grey River Argus, 18 February 1944, Page 4

The Grey River Argus FRIDAY. February 18, 1944. SERVICEMEN AND TRADE TRAINING.

Great as the aid being arranged for ex-servieemen by the Government already may be, it does not satisfy everybody- A better sense of proportion might have deterred one applicant’s lawyer from, demanding the other day that the State ought to find all the money to present all applicants with .homes of their own. Training and other needs also have to be financed. Servicemen, for instance, are being now enabled to revive, at any time within six months of discharge, contracts of apprenticeship either for three years or for the unexpired term if that is less. .If 21,, or if his contract expires, the serviceman must get a journeyman’s pay. The Rehabilitation B.oard is making up two-thirds of the difference between that and the wage of the last six months of the contract to be paid by the employer, plus a third of the margin to make up a journeyman’s pay. Time served in the forces is to be reckoned as time served under the contract for pay purposes, if the ex-serviceman is not 21. An important development has just been announced by the Labour Minister, Mr. AVebb, the handing over by his Department to the Rehabilitation Department of control of Government . trade training schemes. Early demands of New Zealand’s war effort for skilled ■workmen in war industries led to the Government setting up the Dominion Auxiliary Workers’ Training Council to organise and operate training schemes. This provided workers to increase war production and to replace other workers going into the armed forces- The training scheme, which has been administered by the Department of Labour, has had a growing effect on the output of the Dominion war effort, and also on the provision of much, needed homes, but its original purpose has now largely been fulfilled. The scheme is therefore, being used to form the basis of a comprehensive rehabilitation measure for the training of returned servicemen, and the time has thus arrived when it can well be trans ferred to the Rehabilitation Department. Indicating the fine work of the Training Council, State houses at the rate of approximately 150 yearly are now being constructed by trainees of the Government carpentry training centres during the course of their twelve months’ training. This rate will increase as further centres are established in other districts during the coming year. Carpentry training centres are operating in Wellington (two), Auckland, Christchurch, Rotorua, Dunedin and Napier. There is a footwear and welding centre in Auckland, and engineering and welding training has been given at the technical colleges in Auckland, Wellington, 'Christchurch and Dunedin. At present there are 357 men undergoing carpentry training, while 241 men have already completed training. Fifty-eight engineering and welding trainees are undergoing training, with 448 already passed out There are fifteen footwear trainees in Auckland and 185 have .completed the course, this .making a total of 430 men at present in trade training, with 874 already trained, or 1311 all told. The numbers of ex-servicemen trained and training are:— Carpentry 389, engineering 103, welding 59, footwear 32, making a total of 583. The proportion of ex-ser-vicemen is expected'- to increase considerably in the future courses. A carpentry course has recently commenced in Auckland comprising twenty-five ex-service-men, while twenty out of twentyfive trainees in the last class at Peto'ne' were also ex-servicemen-An ingoing welding class at Christchurch is comprised entirely of The general level of work of the returned soldiers has been high, and they have displayed great keenness.

The seven carpentry training centres are each equipped to- train seventy-two men yearly. Mr. Webb states that proposals are under consideration for tlie extension of the carpentry training scheme to other districts, and for the establishment of training centres in Still further indtistrics. The scheme should be a valuable adjunct to the Rehabilitation Department’s facilities for the rehabilitation of ex-servieeni-en;. lit demonstrates that the Government is eager to help them to the utmost.