SKILLED TRADES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19127, 23 September 1936, Page 6

SKILLED TRADES

JOURNEYMEN NEEDED ADULT APPRENTICESHIPS A SCEPTICAL EMPLOYER

"Give me. a lad of 14 or 1;" years, keen to learn 'the trade and not susceptible to the attractions of: high wages for seasonal unskilled work, and I will turn out a tradesman who knows his job. Once a boy reaches the ,age of 17 or IS, his adaptability becomes lowered, and moreover he is less likely to suffer patiently .the process of being taught a trade," declared a well-known Gisborne builder, discussing to-day the need for skilled men in various crafts, and the projected scheme for Training adult apprentices referred to in a statement by the Minister of Labour, published in yesterday's issue. The builder was sceptical as to the prospects of success with the scheme broadly outlined by the Minister. He .pointed out that some form of subsidy would be necessary to induce employers to take apprentices other than those signed on in their early 'teens, and that the scheme would have to have a strong backing of moral support from the Government as well, in order to give, it any'chance of success. Employers realised the need for training, labour for their future requirements, but many trades were now in a state of transition, and the future was so uncertain for (he building trade in particular thai there; was little inducement for the average employer to accept the responsibilities and obligations involved in the taking of apprentices.

LESSON OF THE DEPRESSION *'The lesson of the depression is very fresh in the minds of- employers in the various trades, and it will be a long time before it i.s forgotten," he •continued. "One Gisborne masterplasterer had three apprentices in 1031, and.their relations were mutually satisfactory, the. lads having, learned to lie useful and being, in a, good way to finisli their training and become valuable tradesmen, When the plastering trade suffered, with all other trades allied with building, that employer had to carry a wage-roll of £9 .or. £lO/a. week with practically nothing coming in, aiul lie simply could not keep the apprentices on. Things wilt have to reach a much" more stable condition than they show at present before employers can be expected to enter into apprenticeship agreements on any big scale." In the building trade, he pointed out, 'the demand for highly-skilled men had been much, reduced- by the revolution in methods effected by (lie general adoption of reinforced concrete as the principal .medium. For practical purposes, a reinforced concrete job called for one man who knew the trade thoroughly, with an assistant who could do ordinary carpentering work, and a group of semi-skilled or unskilled, workmen. Men who had been trained in the finer classes of joinery were no longer in demand except, in the factories where sashes, doors, and fittings were turned out. 'Bricklayers had lost a great deal of the 'work they formerly had, too, as the result of the 'turnover to reinforced, concrete, and there wafTno keen ' demand for additional workers in that trade. [

I The employer added that, while most of the trained men .were now in jobs, and seemed likely to be busy for some time, it could not be said that an acute shortage of tradesmen had developed in this district. MORE STABLE TRADES Two of the most stable trades in this country, ho said, were those followed by plasterers and engineers, and even these had been through bad times in recent years. The engineering trade was now supplying some of the work formerly enjoyed 'by building employees, and undoubtedly ihis process would go mi, willi the consentient development of a demand for more, skilled men in the engineering shops.! Plastering was becoming more popular with the development, of a new method of building in which exterior and interior finish is dependent upon the trade. A new competitor in the field, of apprenticeship was the motor industry, which had an extraordinary attraction for boys in this age. "All trades, arc up against, the apprenticeship question, however, because of the attractions of good money at seasonal occupations, in which,payment by results often encourages a young man to learn-quickly and qualify for the top rates," lie concluded.

"II is difficult to maintain the old relation between employer and apprentice when the, latter sees boys of his own ago working in the freezing factories at high rates during the peal; of the,, season, and adopting an independent attitude which is quite foreign to. the whole idea of training in a skilled trade,"