WORKLESS BOYS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 643, 22 December 1932, Page 11

WORKLESS BOYS.

The Position in Christchurch. REPORT TO CABINET CRITICISED “As far as the committee is concerned, the report is not of much assistance to us, because we have been working along the lines suggested for some time past,” said Mr G. M. Keys, convener of the committee appointed to inquire into juvenile unemployment in Christchurch, when discussing the report submitted by Mr A. E. Ansell, M.P., and Mr S. G. Smith, M.P., to Cabinet regarding workless boys. “ We can take it as a compliment that most of the proposals contained in Messrs Ansell and Smith’s report have already been given effect to :n Christchurch. Mr Ansell came to us •nd got all the information he could, nd now that the report has appeared it seems that the work we have been doing was approved,” Mr Keys continued “In our suggested lines of organisation our proposals made provision for the setting up of a Juvenile Employment Committee in various centres. It was suggested that such committee should represent educational and business interests, social workers and such other organisations as may be interested in this problem. These proposals are contained in the report of Messrs Ansell and Smith to Cabinet, and we have been working along those lines for ever a year. Follow Up of Pupils. “ Again our suggestions contained a proposal that a useful piece of work which might well be undertaken by primary school committees in cooperation with the vocational guidance officers would be the follow-up of Standard VX. pupils who leave their own schools each year, with special attention to those who do not go to post-primary schools and do not immediately obtain suitable employment. We believe this quite strongly, because there are local committees which have problems which are not common to all New Zealand. For instance, we in Christchurch have problems which ether parts have not. Here aga n the report to Cabinet embodies similar work to that which we have been undertaking during a peHod.” Mr Keys doubted the report’s figures regarding the number of boys in New Zealand still unemployed, namely, 3044. He was of the opinion that those figures did not represent the true position. Of the 5908 boys reported to be unemployed, the report indicated that 28**4 had been found jobs. It was presumed that out of those 5908 the 1500 boys registered in Christchurch were included. This represented 25 per cent of the total, and the 1500 were registered this year and included only boys who had been in touch with the Juvenile Employment Committee in Christchurch. U nder- Es timated. There were 875 boys on the books at present, and it had been ascert lined that there would be 160 primary school boys who would be leaving school this year and who would be looking for work. It was probable that another 99 per cent had not yet registered. From the three main secondary schools there were 686 boys, most of whom had not yet registered, looking for work. These figures alone made a total of 1721. Tt could, therefore, be presumed that there were over 1500 boys ir Christchurch who were unemployed, so that the number—3ooo—sugge-ted by Messrs Ansell and Smith, was underestimating the position considerably.