LACK OF TRADESMEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23702, 9 January 1939, Page 11

LACK OF TRADESMEN

GOVERNMENT’S WORK HANDICAPPED

MORE APPRENTICES REQUIRED

What the Government was doing to fill the need for skilled artisans in New Zealand was referred to by the Minister of Labour (Mr P. C. Webb) in a brief address he delivered to representatives of trade organisations and employers on Saturday morning. More than 1000 men between the ages of 18 and 25 were apprenticed to the building trade, he said, and there was also a very large number engaged in learning other trades. The apprenticeship laws needed to be more elastic to provide better facilities for training, the Minister stated. If expense were involved, the Government would not hesitate to meet the situation, as the best tradesmen were those trained in the country. “We have £18,000,000 to spend on public buildings which should be gone on with, and we are 20,000 houses short of the total required,” Mr Webb said. “ The reason for this is the shortage of skilled labour. At least 6000 houses are required in a year to keep pace with the expanding population. The Government was left a legacy of untrained men, and when the slump came along many of them had their hearts broken. It is pleasing, however, to see that when they were given the opportunity they responded well.”