SCARCITY OF SKILLED LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 62, 6 December 1907, Page 5

SCARCITY OF SKILLED LABOUR.

V ■■•.: -- * a" MANUFACTURERS HANDICAPPED. s :• ' —:— s "WHAT SHALL WE PUT THE BOY TO?' ° > EVBRY-DAY PROBLEMS. f ' '•■-' ■ : — : '■ ■ . ' s . , I |. '.. (Specially Written for The Dominion.) o' Some time ago a gentleman, well s qualified to undertake, the task, was g ■' appointed by The Dominion to in- • • 1 ; • quire into, and writo up, the questl tion of the scarcity of boy and girl r labour, touching incidentally on the t whole subject of tho manufacturing s industries. We publish tho first of : o his series of articles to-day. It is peculiarly appropriate at this time, , e a deputation having waited on the e Minister for Labour on the subject i- yesterday. 11 No person possessed of ordinary power: '' of observation can fail to have remarked tin a frequent appearance in every part of tin li country of advertisements calling for boy: ■>' and girls to learn factory work of variou: '* descriptions. In many manufacturing in ■ dustrios there is a great domand also fo workors of more maturo experience. It i: well known to those connected, with indus j trial enterprise that tho need is daily grow c ing'more urgent, but, while the officials o t the Department of Labour are doing thei: y utmost, tho question has not hitherto ex s cited any great popular interest. This r however, must not be taken as an earnes ± of its lack of national importance, bu rather as tho result of its temporary obscur o ation by parochial squabbles concerning th< 0 allocation of public money, by the latest o s larid policies, by the quostion of the inci 1 donee of Customs dues, or by matters o r such comparatively ephemeral moment. Population and Manufactures. i During the past twelve years the popula i> tip'ri'of New Zealand has increased by l2pe: 1 cent. Meanwhile the consumption of nianu , factured goods—other than machinery- ant . similar' imporsonal matters—has risen -bj i nearly 50 per cent. "Unfortunately, atafcis 1 tics in this connection are no.t brought up ; to'-date, at least : in an accessible form, n r official publications, but that these figure; t aro not extravagant will generally he grantei 3 by those in the best'position to judge. I t may* bo argued that some of the increasi cited Should bo attributed. to the highe: 5 wages for :fower hours-of labour now .rulin; > and'to tho higher import duties now im j posij'd, but such. points aro. counterbalanced . to , a great extent, by improvements'in mach , iriery .a'nd works prpanisation. To take i . specific'case', that of a suit, of clothes,) j canhotbo denied that, in spite of a rise o 3 some hundreds per cent, in the price of thi • raw material and a general mcreaso ir. wages,'there haa been no striking lidvanci in the cost to the purchaser of the finishec article. 3 . : ' ... •.-... ... . , j ThoStandard of Comfort. ■ ■■ j Briefly stated- tho f act of . the mattor i: , that the standard of comfort has been raised this entailing the appropriation of a greatc: j amount of the labour of his follow-creaturo, |! ■ to satisfy the personal demands of each oni 3 of .our citizens.-. . Considering the world as i s wholo, these matters adjust themselves road I .ily enough, but in the.case of.'a countr; x which aims, at'being self-suppprting. as re gards manufactured commodities, while a ] the same time developing its unoccupied lain f areas, it is evident that fchd, realisation o tho national ariibitions will be impossible un I less the duo ratio of the various sections, o "■ industrial workers to agriculturists is main ' tained. The number of peoplo engaged—o l likely to bo engaged—in manufacturing pur suits in No\y Zealand, has now, for tho tim j being, attained .tho possible maximum, am it is .to, be feared that the deficiency nl ready so severely felt must, bo still furthe aggravated in,years tocomo. ■ .■ • , . '■ The. Future Supply of Workers. Thore aro attending tho primary schools a tho present moment some 16,000 children o each ago between 7 and 13. (The numbers ti those, abovo 13 or undor 7 aro smaller, bu j this can be easily explained.) Now, thore ha j bceii'no considerable increaso in tho birth rate during late years,- and it is therefor 1 .safo.tb assume that for fiftoen years to com B only'somo 16,000 children 'will annually o - in a position to enter the industrial arena 3 But , of those at least 3500 will pass on infc secondary schools, etc., the number thu 5 withdrawn from circulation, as ono migh s say, being steadily on the increase with oaei k year that passes.- It must be admitted tin , these wili subsequently return to tho work s : aday-world, but they will then bo of an ag s and disposition which will but ill-adapt ther for the clasp of employment particularly mi 0 der consideration. . Again, as more land i t thrown open for settlement, the large ceritrr . Will bo still further depleted of possib l workers. Tho number of school teachery of Government employees, and of person a engaged' in- the distribution of merchandis p will also crow larger. It is evident then tha • wo must be ])roparcd to faco tho' fact tha . it is the foreignor who will benefit from ou oxpansion; since, in. spite of the advantage 0 of proximity to the market, and of a taril carefully tliought out for their benefit, ch ! manufacturing industries of Now Zoalan 1 must, '■ under tho conditions stated, b throttled by tho want of hands. Although 1 it would be too much to say, perhaps, tha any individual houso or trade is being dc.s . troyed by, this agency, it .is yet too tru :1 that, the development of every ono of ther o is being prevented, and it is a law of uni versal application that when development i e arrested decay invariably supervenes. ii Country Population!. 5 ' ' Tho birth-rate in the large centres'; ..'slightly higher than in tho rural districts but this is by no means incompatible wit 0 the. observed' fact that largo families ar more, usual in country settlements, and th " mombers of theso are not available forfac tory labour under prosent conditions Whether or not they can bo rendered avail ' able 'will be considered later. Tho preson f article, it must be noted,-is not. concerne with tho comparative merits of country an '\ town life from a personal point of view, but with a. purely industrial quostion, the neces " sity for sceidug means of increasing th liumbor of those entering manufacturing ir '" tlustry. For tho present, the influenco c °, immigration will bo neglected, and only th internal forces at work will bo considered. 1 The Ambitious Boy. J , The -'normal town-bred boy is by way o being ambitious, and does not wish to ento any line of business which fails to offer hir prima facie chance.of rising above th common herd. His parents are quito willing usually, to further -his wishes, eve to the extent, of denying therii solves to some oxtent in so, doing y and, unless they aro engaged in a busines a that demands a successor from their familj if tliev- place no obstacle in tho way of hi s following what they think—or, rather, wha I lie thinks—promises the maximum of oppoi g tunity. Tliey frequently desiro, also, t i- givo 'him certain so-called advantages in tli t- mattor of education, quito regardless of th I point- whether such education will bo of th y slightest uso to him in tho career ho ha p chosen, and upon which, .in tli --. ovont of his .attaining his desire o ho wjll enter. To .most boys, th is possession of a "traclo'-'appears essential, an d at loast two boys out of five make un thei B minds to tako'up some branch of mechamen r- ongineering. But, at tho outset, they on 3- counter an obstacle difficult of negotiation ir the limitation by law of tho numerical, pre :o portion of apprentices to journoyriion. Th 2. result of tho consequent scramblo for place io is that it is not tho most suitable boys, bii ; y those with most influonco or most money be =- hind them that secure tho covotod openings nnd tho successful ones too ofton realise wit a shock thnt to be near a,n engine and to b an en"ineor aro two very different tilings !e All ovontnally discover that, in addition t r- certain destructive proclivities, lissom fingerc is and good eyesight, a lad must posnoss poi Mverahce, energy, application anA.Jove c

study—in short, just the same qualities as in other callings—if ho wishes really to rnise himself. othorwi.se, a measure 1 , of"success will bo achieved that really spells failure. Unskilled Workmen. Many of the unskilled labourers, for whom Ministers, members of tho House, Borough i Councils, etc., aro expected to cater, aro really men who have served part., or ovon tho whole, of an-.apprenticeship .to a.trade. They;would not own themselves incompetent, they might even possess considerable mechanical talent, yofc the fact re-mains that, for some reason or ot.he-r, work at their trade is -for- thorn difficult to find, or irksome or irregular when found. But after a youth has spent a couple of years at a High School, and another two years or so on low wages at a foundry, he can hardly be expected to coolly inform'his proud parents that he is bound to ■■■ bo a failure,- though too often such is really his opinion of his own prospects; an opinion subsequently homo out in many cases by results. On tho other hand, tho boy who has not succeeded in securing a placo in the coveted trade- regards himself, and is often regarded' by his ' relatives, as a 'blighted bfiingi as a creature with blasted hppcs_, and such work asiie may deign to do is"carried out in a half-hearted.fashion,, as,detrimental j to' his own best interests as to those of bis j unfortunate employers, and ;i-lso with a most " prejudicial effect upon his character. To 3 resent some fancied slight, or to secure a 5 temporary riso in wages, or even from sheer 3 waywardness, such a youth often throws up . place aftor place, and drifts and drifts'until r lie reaches the haven of the Public Works Dopartmont. " Better for the Boy. " Now, quite apart from tho doubt whothor a ' boy of iifteon #or so would not bo bettor r employed, working for his living in, say, a . provision factory, and acquiring habits of punctuality- and obedience .to industrial disj! ciplino, than morely growing older at a secondary school watching brighter or more D wealthy lads preparing for a university - career, ho would at least bo discovering in 3 tho factory whether he possessed that mef chanical instinct without which ho could . novor hope to get hoyond the very lowost j ranks in engineering (its non-possession would by no means preclude his success in other callings, but as a mechanic .ho must fail). Tho earlier tasks, of the factory-hand would probably bo dirty or .uninteresting, or - even fatiguing, but not moro so than thoso r of tho apprentice at the foundry. In either - place it would bo the brightest and most 1 willing lad who:would secure the best work. ,' Presently tho factory-boy would bo coming - into contact with most interesting chemical - procesaw, and, if his studios at the Technical i School kept pace with his acquisition ■of 3 practical ..knowledge, his ultimate success 1 would be assured. On attaining his majority t ho-might safely count upon securing rogula'r 5 and! well-paid employment; more regular and r better-paid, in fact, than that usually falling r to the lot of his.luckier schoolmate, who has . attained his heart's desire and become a , journeyman-mechanic. ...-,-. ! The Scarcity of Boys. t Now, tho.foregoing remarks apply to many F manufacturing' businesses besides the-one 3 mentioned, and they are all sadly in want of i boys. It is, however, truo that the em--3 plovers are not at present legally bound to 1 continue the high scale of wages now ruling; but there is no reason why the Arbitration Court, should not fix the wage, definitely jt tho present rate. The country-bred boy'also 5 has Jus ambitions; rather more vacuo per- , haps than thoso of his urban analoguer There is nothing specially fascinating about 3 lite-on a bush section, even to tho most 3 arclont admiror of Nature, and as the lad's i mental horizon is widened by education and - general ; reading there is an' increase in nis r aversion towards the dull grey' existence - which seems all that Lifo has to offer ninv. t At. last the flay arrives whon ho■ discovers 1 that ho can do a man's work and command f a man s wage. At first ho finds a certain - amount of pick-and-shovel work, bush-felling, f etc., in his own district, but the supply of . abour usually exceeds tho demand, which at r best is but intermittent, and ho gradually . wanders further afield: Eventually ho will a reach tho town, but by that time ho will bo 1 far too {-mature to accept—or even to earn — . a learner's wage, and too often he also' ber comes attached to the ever-increasing number ,of casual cmploycos of-the Public Works Department or joins the ranks of tho casual labourers: in the city. Ho has' this' much t better oxense than ' the town-bred lad, that j his opportunities have been fewer. f It may bo objected that tho preceding t paragraphs assume too much that matters are. left to the boy himself, and thnt. his parents, who must bo possessed of more " wisdom and knowledge of the world, would intervene in the matter. The objection may be ■ well-grounded in individual cases, but , only on this general assumption can tho present-pecu-jj liar industrial condition be explained. On tho ono hand wo bear more insistently every day , the cry of tho unemployed for work, or tho , plaint of the M.P. for a duo share of public , money for his constituency; it often comes to the same thing. On .the other hand, wo ' havo a dearth of skilled labour for factories and of applications from boys for opportunities to acquire , that skill. ■ ■" ■