ONE IN THREE YOUTHS BECOME APPRENTICES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 83, 16 August 1950, Page 3

ONE IN THREE YOUTHS BECOME APPRENTICES

Three out of every 10 youths leaving school at the present time enter one or other of the various trades to which they may be apprenticed, according to statistics published in a half-yearly review compiled by the National Employment Service. Over the three-year period from the beginning of 1947 to the end of 1949, approximately 36,000 youths

left school while between April 1, 1947, and March 31, 1950, 10,793 new apprenticeship contracts were registered with the Department of Labour and Employment, representing 30 per cent of all male school-

leavers. One decade earlier when registration of apprentices was also at a high level, from 1937 to 1939, apprenticeships were 8775 out of 37,800 or 23 per cent. “It is evident that a large proportion of the youths leaving school today think more of their future prospects than of high wages in blind-alley unskilled jobs,” comments the survey. The year ended March 31, 1949, saw the biggest number of new apprenticeships, 3925, or 35 per cent of school-leavers, being registered. In the next 12 months the introduc-

tion of the minimum educational requirement in several apprenticeship orders had a limiting effect on the number of new contracts, which totalled 3372 or 28 per cent. The survey traced trends over the past 22 years which showed: From 1928 to 1935 contracts remaining in force fell steeply from 10,227 to 3329. From 1935 to 1939, the number rose back to 9252. From 1939 to 1945, the number in force remained fairly stable but at the end of March, 1945, there were 8068 apprentices actually working

at their trade. However, 4291 contracts were held in suspense because of war service. From 1945 to 1950, the number rose gradually each year to the highest ever recorded for the country, 13,063. In addition there \yere 1351 apprentices employed by the Government making a record total of 14,414. .