BUILDING MATERIALS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26198, 8 July 1946, Page 6

BUILDING MATERIALS

SHORTAGE OF SUPPLIES EFFECT ON TRADE TRAINING Shortages of building materials, particularly of timber, had always been a factor to be reckoned with in the rehabilitation trade training scheme, stated the Minister of Rehabilitation, Mr C. F. Skinner,, commenting on the effect of the timber situation on the training of ex-servicemen at the Rehabilitation Board’s building trade centres. Mr Skinner referred particularly to a statement reported to have been made by Mr W. D. Young at a recent meeting of the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce to the effect that, because of lack of materials, ex-service trainees in Wanganui could not be fully engaged.

“ I do not, of course, know the source of Mr Young’s information nor the authority he had for making such a statement,” said the Minister, “ but 1 can assure both him and others who might have been misled by his reported remarks that our rehabilitation carpentry trainees in Wanganui are certainly being supplied with sufficient materials to allow them to carry on with their training. The supply problem does not affect only Wanganui. We have over 20 carpentry centres in all parts of the country, and we do our very best to ensure that every centre gets sufficient materials to allow its training programme to proceed without serious interruption. “As I have already stated recently, our trade training centres do get a certain priority for building materials. So also does rural housing. I think all fair-minded people will agree that this should be done, that the training of our ex-servicemen as building tradesmen should be encouraged to proceed smoothly and efficiently. .The Wanganui Builders’ Association is apparently displeased that it «is being done and has laid a complaint to that effect before the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce. No doubt there would be a much greater and a much more justified outcry if we were to allow our trainees to mark time while private builders obtained their allocation of materials. As it is, jt is seldom that our trainees have a fortnight's supply of timber on hand. They certainly never have more.”