These three Maori carpenters pictured at the site of the Auckland Museum extensions were given top rating by their employers, McLeod Construction Company. They are (left to right): Syd Solomon and Dick Taurua, from Kaikohe, and Allan Rudolph from Whangarei. (Photo: Auckland Star) APPRENTICES AFTER SEVEN YEARS by N. M. ROE, Vocational Guidance Officer In 1952, thirty Maori boys, coming from various country places as far apart at Ruatoria and Waimamaku, were housed together in the new Labour Department hostel in Epsom. With the help of Vocational Guidance and other services, they were apprenticed to carpenters, motor mechanics, joiners, cabinetmakers, electricians, painters, paperhangers, plumbers, fitters and turners and boilermakers. Just recently, it was my task to find out with what fate these thirty boys had met in Auckland. How many had completed their apprenticeships? What did their employers think of them? How many were still in their trades? I discovered that only four had not completed their apprenticeships. The other twenty-six had all qualified as tradesmen. Most of them were still working at these trades, but a few had gone back to the home farm. Even some of these practise their trade part-time. I obtained testimonials from the employers with whom the 26 successful apprentices had served. Eleven were rated as “excellent,” seven as “good,” seven more as “average or slightly below” and only one was definitely rated “below average.” Here are some of the comments written seven years after the beginning of the scheme: “Three of the best tradesmen we have had.’ (Painting and paperhanging). “One of the best tradesmen we have had.” (Painting and paperhanging). “A first-class tradesman.” (Motor mechanic). “A very good tradesman, very popular with his work mates. Still in the firm.” (Plumbing). “Excellent worker; has now left the firm but there is always a job for him here.” (Cabinet-making). Some employers found that their apprentices took a little time to settle down, but almost invariably a patient policy was well rewarded. The results of the survey should therefore be heartening to sympathetic employers and to Maori parents who are considering an apprenticeship for their children. It has been proved adequately that an average group of young Maori people, given the right guidance, good accommodation and opportunity, can do well in the skilled trades.