CARPENTERS WANTED

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 182, 19 August 1937, Page 4

CARPENTERS WANTED

Acute Shortage oi Tfadesnicn att Hawke's Bay An aetite 6hortage of carpentets in Napier and Hastings is causing difiiclilty now that the building trade is enjdying a bodin period, The provision of iiiOre houses in Hastings is beconiing a matter of great tirgeney, but btiildei'a' nro. finding it increasingly diffieult to obtain the setvices of tradesnien and they have more orders than they are able to ftiifll. A Igrge number Of hien will be required When the State liOusilig schdme is put in hand and, 111 additiou, a number of private dwellings are to be bhiit, but the work is deiayed through a shortage of skiii/d men. The present shortage is a result of the depressioh days when builders, iike men in every other trade, experieneed lean years. The scarcity of Work meaut that enipioyers eould not ap4 prentico boys to the •carpenteriug trade, as the majority of * btiilders were hard4 pressed to liiid sufiicient work for thcniselves to make ends meeG Bo}rs who would otherWise- have been qualiiieT tr&flesiuen by no,W wefo thud deprived of a clianed to lefci'n a Useful occupation, and now that better times have fotumpd these embfyo carpentofs are Weil past tlie age Wheh they could be appreiiticed to the trade. There is WOrk oii'ering locally for carpentefs but tho demand fof men, by far exceeds ihe supply. State Placombut Sefvice offlcials in Hastings said this moming that they were haVing gi'eat dilhculty in iindiug Siifficient mcn to meet the demand. The nhortage extends throughout the Dominion, and in the- cities is partitiularly aeutd. This i'ttctdf has an impoi'tant bearing on the shortage in the smalier toWns, as many of the younger tradcsmon have mlgi'ated to tho cities to liud WOrk. Tho present wavo of pfbsperity has engulfed other parts of the "wJtid and many New Zealand tradesmen have gono overseas aud found employment, thus accentuating the seriousness of tho position in this country. The reinedy is a di&cult ono to find. Boys are now being apprcnticed to tho trade'3, but it will be some timo befofe they will be qualiiied tradesmen. It has befin euggested that tho introduction of carpenters from abroad Would be a possible means of relievlng the position, but it must bo remembered that oversea countries are also being faced with thp same problem. It appcars that, for the time being, builders will liaVo to carry oil very much as at present.