WORK FOR YOUTHS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21049, 7 December 1931, Page 10

WORK FOR YOUTHS.

FEW OPENINGS IN CITY. OPPORTUNITIES ON THE LAND. PARENTS' DIFFICULT PROBLEM. Although it is not until the very end of the school year or until tho time for enrolment for the following year that it is definitely known what, number of boys will be leaving school, the time is sufficiently close for an indication o;f the position to be given. It is certain that 300 boys will bo leaving the three boys' grammar schools in Auckland sit the end of this year, and many .of the boys have some prospect of immediate, employment. About 250 boys will probably be leaving the Seddon Memorial Technical College. During the year nearly 150 boys have left the three grammar schools to go to positions, many of the applications for boys being made direct to the schools. At the Auckland Grammar School 130 boys have definitely notified their intention of leaving, and of this number 100 have work to which they will go, leaving only 30 without prospect of employment. Twenty of the boys leaving will go to the university. Last year boys leaving numbered 200, and in the previous year there were more, so it appears that more than the usual number of boys who, under normal conditions, would have left, will return to school next. year. That will mean an increase in numbers in the upper forms, and it is anticipated that extra provision will have to be made. Boyiii Still in Doubt. Although many boys are remaining at school, the ago of those in the upper forms is about the average, under 17. However, at one grammar school it is stated that it is quite common to have paying pupils, following the expiration of the senior free place, at the ago of 19. Tho higher standard of the proficiency examination i:3 expected' to reduce the number of pupils seeking: admission to the secondary schools. On the other hand, there will arise the difficulty of accommodating those pupils with only competency certificates. Sixty boys who left the Auckland Grammar School during the year have secured work, 17 being placed on farms and 17 in business. Sixty-six boys from the Mount AJbert Grammar School and 20 from the Takapuna Grammar School into situations during the year. The positions taken in many cases w«re not what the boys really wanted, but they proved acceptable in these ds.ys when opportunities are so few. At the Takapuna Grammar School 76 boys are still in doubt as to whether they will leave, their decisions depending largely upon the prospect of otbaining work. Few Apprentices Wanted. It is stated that during the past year there has been, a distinct turn toward farming by boys leaving school, but before they will send their boys to farms many parents are waiting for the Government _ to indicate what assistance the boys might expect to be forthcoming. .The majority of parents have insufficient capital to invest in farms, and they are not prepared to see their boys working as farm hands for all time. More fortunate boys have farmer relatives to whom they can turn for employment, and nowadays many more boys are taking advantage of this opportunity thaii did previously. Among those leaving the Technical College are some fourth-year boys fully trained for apprenticeships in woodwork, metalwork and other trades, but few firms are now ta.king apprentices and some of the boys with a knowledge of engineering have decided to learn farming. Boys who ordinarily would have accepted positions in banks, warehouses, insurance houses and commercial firms find those avenues of employment very restricted, and others who would have entered the Civil Service find it virtually closed. Openings in the professions are few, and under all the circumstances parents are being forced to think more deeply of the type of education they will give their boys.