“HERE TO STAY”

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 84, 10 June 1946, Page 6

“HERE TO STAY”

TRAINING SCHEME

That the method of intensive trade training at present followed under the rehabilitation scheme was here to stay, was an opinion expressed at the monthly meeting of the Rehabilitation Board by Mr S. W. Gaspar, a member of the Board and chairman of its Trade Training Committee. “Employers have often not enough time to devote to apprentices, and parents are realising that their children in many cases cannot get proper tuition under the apprenticeship system as it is at present,” said Mr Gaspar. “I am sure that the type of .intensive training for trades in the building industry we have adopted for ex-servicemen is here to stay.”

The Director of Rehabilitation: It has been envisaged, I think, that when we are no longer interested in our training scheme —that is when the need for it is past as a rehabilitation measure—some other Government Department will take it over as a civilian scheme.

Mr Gaspar had been drawing attention of Board members to the fact that there were approximately 1400 ex-servicemen awaiting entry to the Board’s building trade training centres, so popular had they become. A year ago publicity had had to be directed towards getting sufficient ex-servicemen to make up the numbers for the classes as they commenced. Apart from the difficulties of building materials there was the problem of keeping tradesmen in proper proportions so that all could be assured of permanent employment, and so that almost completed houses would not have to remain untenanted until certain essential work had been done. Director: That is obvious. I understand that on some State housing settlements lack of painters and plumbers is holding up completion of homes.

Mr Gaspar also assured Board members that the claims of young home-servicemen who had no trade to turn to were always considered when filling classes at the training centres.