SPECIAL SERVICE BATTALION

Southland Times, Issue 23460, 17 March 1938, Page 6

SPECIAL SERVICE BATTALION

SUCCESS IN SOUTH AFRICA EMPLOYMENT SECURED FOR MEMBERS JOHANNESBURG, January 15. The interesting social experiment begun some years ago by Mr O. Pirow, Minister of Defence, with his Special Service Battalion, continues to show excellent results. The battalion is for young men over the age of 17 years who serve a brief period of military training before being drafted into civil occupations. . The year which just ended has been one of remarkable success for the battalion in securing employment for its members. During the year the’ employment officer to the battalion, Mr L. H. Visser, obtained permanent employment for 1624 members of the Roberts Heights Battalion, and the Cape Town and Durban branches of the battalion placed 142 and 72 boys respectively. This gives a total placementlist for the year of 1838, bringing up the grand aggregate of placements since the inception of the battalion in May 1933 to 7549. The merit of this achievement is better realized when it is borne in mind that there is no compulsion either on Government departments or private employers to engage battalion boys and that the battalion has to enter the open market to place its members. Today tbe boys are in such great demand that a considerable number of recruits are required after the December placements. “We could have placed at least 750 more boys in employment in the last month or two than we actually did, but we had to turn down numerous employers because we did not have the boys for them,” said Mr Visser. “So highly are the boys thought of by employers in all parts of the country that we have long waiting lists for them. From the date of inception of tbe battalion until the present time, no man has been discharged from the battalion without having had the offer of permanent employment.”