TRAINING FOR TRADES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21289, 16 September 1932, Page 13

TRAINING FOR TRADES

TECHNICAL SCHOOL COURSES RECOGNITION OF VALUE The opinion that the world depression in industry was not entirely the cause of unemployment among boys in New Zealand, but that there had been a problem even before the depression became severe, was expressed at the recent conference of the Technical Education Association, according to a report received from Mr. »G. J. Park, principal of the Seddon Memorial Technical College, at the annual meeting of the board of managers of the college yesterday. Mr. Park said in his report that employers greatly valued the "work being done in the technical schools. The opinion was common that a skilled tradesman's work could often be done by a boy with a good technical school course of training. Having reached this position in public esteem, it was considered that training in technical schools should count in lieu of part of the apprenticeship period. It was stated that in the difficult conditions now existing industrialists found that the technical school boy tiained in the trade processes was able to produce more toward his wage than the boy nob so trained, and in consequence employers were paying far more attention to the qualifications of boys applying for positions than had been the case in the past, when the qualifications were often the last thing considered. It was considered that the technical colleges were now equipped and staffed in such a way that they could train apprentices, as was done in other countries.

In adopting the report, members of the board expressed satisfaction that the value of technical college training was so generally appreciated.