A HELPFUL SCHEME

Wairarapa Age, 18 June 1936, Page 5

A HELPFUL SCHEME

ADDRESS BY MASTERTON PLACEMENT OFFICER. NEW & HOPEFUL ATTACK. ON UNEMPLOYMENT. CO-OPERATION INVITED. The excellent aims and objects of the Placement Scheme instituted by the Labour Department were explained by the Masterton Placement Officer (Mr. J. Hanaghan) in a radio address from Station 2ZD last night. "The fact is only too well known,” Mr. Hqnaghan said, " that in Masterton and district a considerable number of our fellow citizens have been without regular employment of any kind for a period of years, but the Labour Department is now making a great effort through the Placement Scheme to restore to these men and their dependants their normal measure of selfrespect and comfort. How this task is to be achieved is a matter that will surely warrant your attention for a few moments. The first stage in thia wonderful work was to secure the reregistration of all those in receipt of relief, for the purpose of obtaining the fullest possible details of their industrial capabilities, main and alternative occupations, educational qualifications, particulars of service with previous employers, and, in the case of those meff who have never followed any specified avocation, to get a sound idea of any special aptitude they may have for some clearly defined sphere of labour.

A NECESSARY HABIT. "Whilst this stage was in progress' care was taken to impress upon candidates for employment the necessity of making a habit of calling frequently at the Employment Bureau with the object of seeking work, and to learn to look upon the bureau as the place where they may ultimately find a way back to their real station in life. It is quit® true that in the past five or six years the purpose for which Government Employment Bureaux were intended has been nearly lost sight of, they having been almost entirely looked on as places for the disbursal of relief, but thanks to the Placement Scheme, this attitude is being fought down. The next stage, to which we are gradually working, being already assured of the strong support of the Press, is the co-operation of all employers, with a view to getting them mto the habit of availing themselves of the services of the Government Employment Bureau as the natural place upon which to draw for their labour requirements. To accomplish this, a variety of methods have been adopted, including screen advertising, circular letters, the telephone, the personal canvass, and the wonderful medium of broadcasting, and it has been really astonishing, especially in regard to the use of circular letters, how in some cases the response has been instantaneous. This clearly demonstrates the value of co-operation, and it says much for the ultimate success of the Placement Scheme. APPEAL TO EMPLOYERS.

“Instead of trying to bustle a man into the first available job, it is the especial duty of the Placement Officer to act as intermediary between applicants and employers, and to ensure that candidates for vacancies are men whose service, ability, and character have been thoroughly investigated. Quite a fair amount of success has attended the efforts of the Masterton Bureau, but it is our ambition to be the first centre in the Dominion where all physically fit men have been absorbed into trade and industry, and, with this end in view, we address this earnest appeal to employers: Let us have your cooperation in the solving of this most serious problem. If your business is in a sound financial condition, take an extra man now against the day when trade will improve still further. Advise us of any vacancies and let us offer you the right type of man. Above all, let us rented you that the resources of the LabourtDepartment are national —that is ta aay, if the particular class of tradesman you require is not available in Masterton, we will get him from Auckland, or the Bluff>s necessary. Our telephone number is 1134, please make a note of it, or better still, call at the Employment Bureau, where enquiries as to the workings of the Placement Scheme will be welcomed. In conclusion, we would like to express our thanks to the officers of the Masterton Radio Listeners’ Club for having afforded us this opportunity of speaking ‘over the air,’ and also to thank our listeners.”