TRAINING THE YOUNG

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 17

TRAINING THE YOUNG

Sir, —Many of your renders will have children who, in the next three months, will be called upon to decide their life occupations. Such a decision is always difficult. With the recent legislation it is made many times more so. Unfortunately, few parents realise just how far reaching the decision will be; for now the possibilities of changing one's occupation are very seriously curtailed. Consider the case of an office girl. She starts work with a minimum of 15s per week and her salary rises at the rate of 4s every six months. On the face of it, the arrangement is very equitable and ensures that she is protected against the unscrupulous employer. In the case of the capable girl who can advance in experience and ability as her salary rises the system should work satisfactorily both to employer and to employee. Many girls cannot improve themselves in this way, however. Many do not attempt to, preferring to anticipate marriage as the solution of the future. Many, lacking natural ability, are unable to do so. In the past these girls have found positions where, while the wages were probably small, they were not called upon to show any groat ability. To-day the employer cannot afford to let a girl remain in such a position. In order to keep bis overhead within bounds ho must call on his junior staff to undertake more important and more difficult work as the salaries increase. The girl who is unable to respond will be dismissed for incompetence. When she is dismissed she may be receiving perhaps Mis per week. She is not smart and cannot take another office position under this figure She must now compete with smart girls just leaving college and the latter can accept 15s per week less than she can. If no position is offorinr; to her she can try to obtain a position at factory work, but hero she meets worse competition and has absolutely no training. So far-reaching is this law that a girl can easily find she is entirely debarred from all occupations but domestic work, which is exempt under the Act. I should like to give ah example which occurred some days ago. A young man with three years' shop assistant experience called on a tailor desiring a position where he could learn the tailoring trade. He was 22 years of age and would have been happy to start at £1 per week. At £1 per week the tailor was quite prepared to teach him the trade. The minimum wage ho could accept, however, was £2 per week and this would probably bo- increased when the Shop Assistants' Award is settled. The boy had to give up his idea of learning tailoring. So serious is the position as far as young people are concerned that every parent should do his utmost when starting his child in an occupation to mako certain, firstly, that the child likes and is suited to the particular trade or profession, or secondly, that the child is trained or is in a position to tret training to enable him to yive satisfaction at the maximum award rntc; thirdly, that the trade or profession the child is adopting is not likely to become overcrowded as it is becoming increasingly difficult to change one's occupation should the supply of labour offering exceed the work offering. Father of Three.