THE FUTURE OF BOYS

Taranaki Daily News, 20 June 1931, Page 13 (Supplement)

THE FUTURE OF BOYS

A PRESSING PROBLEM

(By

“Alpha.”)

One of the most difficult problems of the present depression—a problem, moreover, that will not 'be automatically solved 'by the ending of the depression—is that of finding employment for boys. The disabilities which boys will suffer will be tinged with the bitterness of injustice, for those who are now entering upon their working lives could have had no share in creating the conditions which tend to make a difficult situation worse. So far as the adult labour market is concerned, protection of a kind has already been afforded in advance by the discouragement of further immigration, and it lies within the power of the authorities to continue this -restriction so long as the labour market appears incapable of absorbing any surplus workers already here. This restrictive policy has little to recommend it; for if free play were allowed for the energies of all workers the Dominion in normal times could easily find room for all who seek to come here. The industrial policy of the country 'being what it is, however, the shutting out of migrants does offer an artificial protection to the adult labour market; but even this protection is denied to youth. The number of boys leaving school and unable to obtain employment while the depression lasts will “bank up,” so that even /hen normal times return the number of boys requiring work will be * far beyond the capacity of industry to employ under present conditions. Not only will there be far more boys than jobs, but the plight of older boys will be unenviable to a degree. They will be too old to enter upon the long periods of apprenticeship now demanded. Should they obtain work when on the verge of manhood, at a wage suited to their lack of skill and experience, employers would be compelled to dismiss them when they reached the age of 21 years because they would be incapable of earning the high wages prescribed for adults. {For boys who remain at public .schools or State high schools until they reach the standard of the school-leav-ing certificate the outlook is even more gloomy. The depression will soon have completed its second year, and boys who continued their school careers to the age of 17 and left school when the depression began will be on the threshold of manhood. They will’be far too old to learn trades, and should they find employment in offices they could not acquire sufficient training to qualify for a high adult wage by the time they reached their majority. Only the most brilliant could hope to retain a footing in industry thus handicapped. What is required is an entirely new orientation of ideas regarding juvenile employment. Lessons should be learned from the mistakes of the past. Age standards have been regarded as possessing some magic significance. The remuneration of boys has been made to depend, by law, upon the passing of time, instead of upon their aptitude and enthusiasm for their work. When a youth has reached the age of 21 years he has had to be paid a full journeyman's wage, whether ■ he was worth it or not. Sometimes, the incompetence of the youth has been so gross that he has had to be dismissed because of his utter inability to earn a high wage. In too many cases, however, industry has been called upon to carry its- drones and its in efficients, this being made possible by a debilitating protective system. An irresistible demand has arisen for the wages of unskilled adults to be based upon their needs, or supposed needs, instead of upon the value of their work to the community. Thus high wages have been established for work done by men which could easily be done by boys, and when boys have been engaged, for this work they have been paid the high wages because, they could not be allowed to undercut men. This state of affairs has been bad for the boys and bad for the community. Liberally supplied with money, with no idea of either thrift or wise spending, they have spent all their ■wages upon themselves —with the exception of a modest sum paid at home as board —in wasteful and improvident fas'h/Yk This free flow of ‘‘easy money” has not only raised the prices of necessaries, such as clothing, against breadwinners less able to pay high prices, but has also encouraged the growth of luxuries -beyond the power of the community to sustain. With the sudden onset of the depression the effects were sharply felt. The false prosperity engendered by luxuryspending came to an abrupt termination when irresponsible youth no longer' had high wages to spend. This further increased unemployment. Youths who had spent recklehsly instead of saving at least a portion of their earnings became a burden upon parents themselves hard hit.

There has not 'been witnessed in the Dominion the lamentable spectacle to be seen in Great Britain to-day of boys who have reached manhood without knowing "what it is to work, living and even marrying on the dole. Boys and youths who have been prevented from obtaining practical training in industry should be allowed to work for what they can earn until they become fully efficient. Industry, freed from restrictions, would revive to such an extent that workers would be able to demand their true value from employers without the aid of .artificial awards. Rigid apprenticeship conditions should be relaxed as far as practicable to enable more boys to be trained for their life’s work. Possibly the period necessary for the learning of trades could be shortened by the adoption of some system of intensive training, which it should not be difficult io devise with the co-operation of employers and educational authorities. A complete plan for the absorption in industry of surplus boys would require much preparation; but the duty of the community to youth demands New Zealand’s best thought. Academic objections and the prejudices of trade unions should not be allowed to stand in the way.