WARNING ON EMPLOYMENT OF APPRENTICES

Grey River Argus, 28 October 1948, Page 8

WARNING ON EMPLOYMENT OF APPRENTICES

A warning to employers that they must not empioy an apprentice betore receiving tne consent of the apprenticeship committee, was given last night oy the District Commissioner of Apprenticeship for Canterbury and Westland (Mr S. W. Armstrong in an address on tne training of apprentices. A most disappointing attendance indicated a lack of interest in such matters by employers and employees of Greymouth. Mr Armstrong said tnat employers objected to waiting for tne committee's consent on the ground that mere was too much delay. He said there was an apprentice suo-committee, which could grant tentative permission to an employer to engage an apprentice. Employers should learn tnat if they did employ an apprentice without consent, the boy lost all time while so employed. Mr Armstrong said .that in the past there had been allegations by apprentices that they were not being thoroughly taught their trade, while employers contended that they were. To overcome these difficulties it had been decided that in future, the New Zealand Apprenticeship Orders would contain a full list of the employers’ responsibilities.

LODGING ALLOWANCES Dealing with the lodging allowance for apprentices, Mr Armstrong said that the grant or 25s a week was a boom to the boys. In his district he had 115 boys, including 11 from Greymouth, who were receiving that allowance. Daylight training, ne said was the pet baby of the New Zealand Apprentices Committees, which was busy trying to sell the idea to employers. It was no good without the co-operation of employers and technical schools. At the moment the technical schools did not have tne staffs and accommodation, and they had to wait until these were available. Daylight training in plumbing would start in Christchurch next year. The boys would have half a day, their wages being paid by the employers. They were well ahead with the scheme as it applied to the baking and the motor trades, but it would be some time before daylight training became general in New Zealand, he said.

Mr Armstrong outlined the powers of the apprentice committee and said the most important was that of approving or declining applications for apprentices. The committee could also cancel, transfer and amend contracts, inspect places of employment, inquire into the training of apprentices, or prohibit the employment of apprentices.

Statistics showed, he added, that there were 185 registered apprentices in Greymouth, while the total for New Zealand was higher than it had ever been. This indicated that the people had become apprentice-mind-ed. The detailed figures for Greymouth and Westland were: —Carpenters and farmers, 45; clothing, one; coach building, seven, electrical trades 16; baking 13; boilermaking, one; boot manufacturing, nil; boot repairing, three; blacksmith, nil; bricklaying, two; printing, nine; engineering, 22; motor mechanics, 31; furniture, 16; jewellery, one; stonemason, one; moulder, one; painting and paperhanging, two; plasterers two; plumbing 14. .