WORK ON MEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20111, 23 November 1928, Page 15

WORK ON MEMS.

THE DEMAND FOR LABOUR.

OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUTHS.

EXPERIENCE WITH MACHINERY. A way out of llio reported difficulty of boys and youths in obtaining practical experience in fanning is suggested by tlio unsatisfied demand for farm labour revealed in newspaper advertising columns and requests for assistance made to registry offices. Auckland was credited last week with having 645 men ready to accept employment, and it is hardly possible to believe that all of these men are deficient in acquaintance with farming. It is common knowledge that many of them do not care for work which will take them into the back country where pioneers aro bringing land into productivity Such objections aro answered by reference to the advertisements which show that work is to be obtained iri well-settled districts and near centres which offer many of the amenities of the cities.

The demand for boys and youths for farm work is about equal to that for men of more mature years. Little experience is looked for from tho boys that aro sought, and the wages offered plus their "keep" in good homes suggest that opportunity is knocking at tho door of city and suburban lads who feel they would like to try farm life for at least a timo. Tho assistance that is required on the average dairy farm is of a seasonal nature, but tho boy who finds ho has an aptitude for tho work and is keen to go ahead has littlo difficulty in securing a situation ■ho can retain as long as ho desires.

Most of the farmers seeking to enlist the aid of youths on the dairy farms of the province demand experience, aud are willing to pay up to 30s a week, plus "keep," for it. The great growth in the uso of machinery on the farms is revealed in the fact that acquaintance with milking plants is regarded as an essential qualification by most of the advertisers. Such knowledge, however, is not difficult of attainment, for milking machines and their oil or electric power plants have been greatly simplified since they were introduced. If the farmers evinced a little more readiness to place facilities at the disposal of youths to gain this experience under their direction it is considered likely that their demand for labour would be satisfied.