INDUSTRY SAID TO LACK 7840 CARPENTERS

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5278, 14 December 1946, Page 5

INDUSTRY SAID TO LACK 7840 CARPENTERS

WELLINGTON, Last Night. Statistics proved that, had it not been for rehahilitation training centres, the supply position of trainees for the building industry would have been hopeless, said Mr. S. W. Gaspar, at the quarterly meeting of the National Rehahilitation Council in Wellington. There was, he said, an estimated shortage of 7840 carpenters in the industry, while normal replacements necessary amounted to 1204 apprentices a year. As it was, only 300 apprentices a year were eoming forward. In the plastering trade there was an .annual requirement of 125 apprentices and only 22 came forward each year. For bricklaying, only seven apprentices a year were eoming forward instead of the 55 ordinarily needed. Ex-service trainees at present being taught at centres numbered 1702 for carpentery, 105 for bricklaying, 99 for plastering, 195 for painting, and 12 for joinery, a to-tal of 2113, The standard of work being done was higb, and contractors to whom trainees had gone after completing their training period were satisfied. The Director of Rehahilitation, Mr. F. W. Baker, said that although there would be no administrative difficulty in setting up double *the nu-mber of training centres, it would mean doubling the amount of building materials. That would in turn reflect on the amount which eould be made available to private builders, many of whom were already employing exservicepien. Thus any endeavour to increase substantially th-e number of men trained might lead to- difficulty in lceeping them fully employed.