LACK OF SKILLED LABOUR.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 40, 15 January 1935, Page 6

LACK OF SKILLED LABOUR.

Strange as it may seem, there is reported to be a serious and increasing concern among those in touch with some of Britain’s leading industries at the dearth of skilled labour among the workers in them, which is slowly becoming more and more obvious. From its peculiar position there is no better example of this lack than in the shipbuilding industry. A London correspondent says it may seem anomalous to talk of a lack of skilled labour in an industry in which nearly 5U per cent, of workers are out of employment; but, nevertheless, the anomaly is there, and if things continue as they are to-day the position is likely to grow definitely serious. Surveying this state of affairs one comes to the conclusion that it is one of the worst legacies of protracted economic depression. It has to be remembered that although there is such a large percentage of men unemployed in the shipbuilding industry the bulk of these are unskilled workers, and this accentuates the position. During the post-war boom a large number of unskilled and semiskilled workers came into the industry from outside, and when the boom collapsed it was too late for them to enter other industries. The slump in mercantile shipbuilding, added, to the frequent changes of policy in regard to warship construction, has made the shipbuilding industry a definitely unpopular one among workers. In the old days fathers used to apprentice their sons to their own trade. Now they will have none of it; there is no guarantee of continuity of work. Further, all the apprentices whose careers were interrupted bv the war did not return to their trade, and this has accentuated the shortage of skilled labour to-day. It has been stated that if there were a sudden boom soon it would be difficult to cope with it, since the production of skilled workers takes a long time. Before the war the country could safely rely on the expansion of the mercantile marine to supply a skilled personnel that could at a moment’s notice be turned on to the production of warships. But the mercantile marine has ceased to expand and that expedient can be used no more. Lack of orders for other countries in the British shipbuilding yards has resulted also in the loss of recruitment of labour personnel. It is not surprising, taking- the condition of this and other industries into consideration, that a serious attempt is now being tackled by the Ministry of Labour to create a system of vocational training and educational centres for the unemployed which will assist them to continue their training and be ready to take up skilled work when the opportunity offers. The long period of depression and unemployment that several countries have experienced has brought numerous social problems and this is one of the most important, affecting Britain more, perhaps, than any other country.