Many Advantages

Te Ao Hou, June 1966, Page 7

Many Advantages These courses offer many advantages, not the least of which is that in many cases they provide the only real opportunity for Maori boys in country areas to take up skilled trades. Besides giving intensive theoretical and practical instruction in each trade, the courses are specially designed to give the Maori boys extra help in essential academic subjects, such as English and mathematics. The trainees are placed in accommodation at suitable hostels, mostly operated by church organisations, and special emphasis is placed on helping them to adapt themselves to the often bewildering complexity of city life. Boys taken into the schemes become employees of the Department of Maori Affairs and receive normal apprentices' wages. At the end of the course they are placed with private employers to complete their apprenticeships in the usual way. Time spent in the courses run by the Department count towards the apprenticeship term.