DEARTH OF WORKERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 167, 13 October 1941, Page 5

DEARTH OF WORKERS

PROBLEMS OF EMPLOYERS

VARIETY OF POSITIONS

OFFERED

As, of course, was to be expected! there is a greait dearth of workers throughout the Dominion andi, together with alii other districts, the Bay feels sharply the shortage in practically every branch of industry which has been brought about by ttie de*of so many men for service overseas with {lie l colours.

This position, which is embarrassing most employers, has been evident for many months, but was particularly emphasised from a local viewpoint when, in Friday's issue of the BEACON, a variety of situations vacant numbered well over 20. One firm from as far afield as Wellington was advertising for men associated with the building trade, while sharemilkers, farm workers, married couples, drivers, hospital jjLff, boys for trades and domestics were sought.

It is stated that the Whakatane Public Hospital can alone place six females on its staff, while farm liands required urgently in the immediate district must easily pass the ' half century mark. Skeleton Staffs The manufacturing side of the ■ dairying industry finds the Rangi- ' taiki Dairy Coy urgently needing both experienced and inexperienced ■ men for its butter and cheese factories, while many firms in the town ■ore operating with skeleton staffs. The shortage is so marked that firms which hitherto hoped to ob~ •tain experienced employees would now be grateful to find available experienced workers for training. Female employees are in many cases replacing men who have joined one of the services this being particularly noticeable in the Post and Telegraph Department and the trading banks. . "Efficient female 1 office staff is ■now practically impossible to obtain," stated an executive when interviewed by a BEACON representative last week, adding that to maintain efficiency considerable, strain fell upon the few senior officers remaining. There are, of course, same branches of industry which have not felt tho •shortage, or at least, in some departments have not. Difficulty in > obtaining goods as a result of import restrictions would have made the normal staff too large and when . men have left it has counterbalanced •ihe position. Younger and Older "The shortage of workers is a deTinite problem for many and the position as revealed in the "Situations Vacant" column is on the other hand made more marked by the fact fthat during the past month only one •office assistant lias sought a position •through the advertising columns.

It is evident that the shortage existing after two yenrs of war ancl ihe fact that more men are yet to be 4rawn from many walks of life, will be responsible for worKers being enrolled at a younger age, more females being drawn into positions "hitherto held by males, and the reabsorbing into industry of many juarried women ancl men who liave gone into retirement.