CHANGING CAREERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 60, 8 April 1946, Page 6

CHANGING CAREERS

POLICY STATED REHABILITATION BOARD Although generally speaking exservicemen should be discouraged from leaving occupations in which they had an assured position with reasonable prospects and in which they were already trained, in appropriate cases the Board should assist ex-servicemen to change their occupations or professions which it is felt there was adequate reason. This statement of policy was made at a recent meeting of the Rehabilitation Board, when the subject of change of careers was brought up for discussion.

"As a principle the Board is not opposed to ex-servicemen changing their careers and seeking assistance to do so, providing it is satisfied that the change is in the best interests of the ex-serviceman himself, 'and there are reasonably good prospects in the new vocation he is taking up," said the Minister of Rehabilitation, the Hon. C. F. Skinner. "If we all look back to our own early life and those of others we know, we can remember that many of us went into jobs we did not choose ourselves. Rehabilitation to some men seems a heaven-sent opportunity to make a new start." He added that great care would have to be taken in applying the Board's decision. It was stated that assistance to change occupations had always freely been given disabled ex-service-men and this would of course continue. For non-disabled people to make a change often resulted in oneman having two trades or vocations and another man being deprived of the opportunity of acquiring even one.