stood the problems facing the youngsters and knew the demands and opportunities of the commercial and industrial world. During the last week of the course, in mid-February, virtually all the students were placed in jobs which gave chances of training in specialised skills, and which allowed for promotion and advancement. Most boys were apprenticed as motor mechanics, carpenters, panel-beaters, plasterers, painters and decorators and fitters and turners. Most girls found office jobs, either as clerks or shorthand typists. Of the 34 boys, only one returned to his home town. He found on arrival in Wellington that he had passed School Certificate, and so at the end of the course went back to school to try for University Entrance with the idea of taking up teaching as a career. Of the 26 girls, five either returned home or found jobs in other centres such as Hamilton or Auckland. The course was undoubtedly successful, as the boys and girls gained from it knowledge of how to cope with many problems. There is no comparison between the boy who has completed the course and moved into his first job, and a youngster just getting off the train, arriving in Wellington for the first time … not knowing where to get accommodation, the range of jobs available, and whether or not there is an over-supply of labour for one particular trade or skill. Even the geography of Wellington would be baffling for a start. Members of the course with their teachers And just what does such a person feel on arrival? The students on the course answered this question, on paper, just a few days after it began. Here are some of their impressions: “When I first got off the train, and stepped onto the Wellington railway platform, the things that impressed me were the amount of people walking past, and the amount of noise. Also the different coloured clothing, and people of different races passing by. But the thing I was most worried about was my suitcase…” “To me, and I think to some of the other country boys too, all this hurrying by the Wellingtonians seemed stupid. This was mainly due to the type of life we had previously led, that is, slow and easygoing. Although soon we too became members of the rat race that takes place in a city…” “The first question I asked was, ‘Please show me the main street,’ and to my amazement there was more than one…” “Other things that impressed me were the buildings. As you walk along the street and look up it feels as though you are a dwarf walking down the Grand Canyon. The buildings are huge and tower way above the pedestrians. Some people never seem to see these monstrous buildings because they haven't time to stop and look around…” “This is the first time I've been to this place and it's eighty times bigger than the