' Hi—Hβ

the working of the apprenticeship laws and the desirability of reorganizing facilities for training in manual trades and into the other matters hereinafter referivi to : And whereas by the said Warrant you were required to report to me not later than the thirty-first day of August, one thousand nine hundred and forty-four, your findings and opinions on the matters therein specified : And whereas it is expedient that the time for so reporting should be extended: Now, therefore, I, Cyril Louis Norton Newall, the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, and all other powers and authorities enabling me in this behalf, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, do hereby extend until the thirtieth day of November, one thousand nine hundred and forty-four, the time within which you are so required to report: And you are hereby strictly charged and directed that you shall not at any time publish or otherwise disclose, save to me in pursuance of the said Warrant, the contents or purport of any report so made or to be made by you, or any evidence or information obtained by you in the exercise of the powers hereby conferred upon you, except such evidence or information as is received in the course of a sitting open to the public : And, in further pursuance of the said powers and authorities and with the like advice and consent, I do hereby confirm the said Warrant and the Commission thereby constituted except as altered by these presents. Given under the hand of His Excellency Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Louis Norton Newall, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Member of the Order of Merit, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, on whom has been conferred the Albert Medal of the First Class, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and issued under the Seal of the said Dominion, this 30th day of August, 1944. P. C. WEBB, Minister of Labour. Approved in Council — C. A. JEFFERY, Clerk of the Executive Council.

REPORT

To His Excellency Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Louis Norton Newall, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Member of the Order of Merit, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, on whom has been conferred the Albert Medal of the First Class, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies. May it please your Excellency,— Your Excellency's Commission, dated the 19th day of April, 1944, directed us to inquire into and report and make recommendations upon the following matters, namely : — (1) To investigate existing educational facilities of both prevocational and vocational character, and to report on the changes necessary to meet the present and future needs of industry so far as they can be foreseen : (2) To examine existing legislation bearing upon apprenticeship ; to make recommendations as to changes in such legislation, or as to new legislation which might be necessary to enable the reforms recommended by us to he carried into effect. We have now the honour to submit to Your Excellency our unanimous report and recommendations. After appropriate notifications in the press and over the broadcasting service, the Commission commenced its formal sittings for the taking of evidence at Wellington on the 20th June, 1944. Sittings were held later at Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin. On the return of the Commission to Wellington from Dunedin, further evidence was taken in that city. The Commission sat on forty-six occasions in all, and evidence was heard from one hundred and thirty witnesses. Sixty-eight written statements were submitted by witnesses and, in addition, seventeen further written statements were received from other interested parties in different parts of the Dominion. A list of the names of witnesses, with the organizations they represented, and of those parties who made written submissions only, is given in the Appendix. Various members of the Commission made numerous visits to factories, workshops, and technical schools in each city, where apprentices and boys hoping to become apprenticed were interviewed individually and in groups, the object being to learn as much as possible of the outlook of the boys and their immediate problems. In addition to these personal interviews by members of the Commission, a case study of forty apprentices was made by Mr. H. C. McQueen, Research Officer attached to thejDommission.

3