NOT A PALLIATIVE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 150, 26 June 1931, Page 8

NOT A PALLIATIVE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYERS DO NOT WANT ANY MORE APPRENTICES

The rejection by the Arbitration Court of a tradesman’s application to employ an apprentice led a “ Star ” reporter this morning to make inquiries with a view to discovering whether a relaxation of the provisions of the Apprenticeship Act might not do much to relieve unemployment among the youth of the countrv.

Representative employers were of the opinion that the terms of the Act were, generally speaking, most liberal and alterations were neither warranted nor necessary.

A member of an apprenticeship committee said that the main question was whether the apprentice -was learning his trade. The first principle of apprenticeship was to teach the youth the trade to which he was apprenticed. In some cases where employers were willing to employ an apprentice, it might not be possible to give the employee adequate instruction, with the result that, at the end of his apprenticeship term, he might find himself without a trade and little more than a general labourer. The Quota.

The award, broadly speaking, permitted the employment of one apprentice to each journeyman. That proportion, in the interests of the youths, could not be exceeded. It was true that, in some trades, the full quota of apprentices was not being employed, but that was entirely due to trade conditions.

A second manufacturer pointed out that to give employers an entirely free hand in the employment of apprentices might lead, in some cases, to a most unfortunate state of affairs. It could easily lead to the replacement of many skilled journeymen workers by apprentices, which would be the reverse of any unemployment palliative. There was also another aspect to be considered. The employment of a large number of apprentices, who were unskilled in the specialised work of their trade, might well be reflected in the quality of goods produced. It was explained by a third employer that the apprenticeship question was adequately controlled by the apprenticeship committees operating in each trade. These committees consisted of the employers, representatives of the employees, and an officer of the Labour Department as secretary. All matters relating to apprenticeship were fully’ considered by these representative committees.