THE APPRENTICESHIP LAW.

Shannon News, 18 January 1927, Page 4

THE APPRENTICESHIP LAW.

Some interesting facts were disclosed as the result of an interview on behalf of one of the city newspapers with the Secretary for Labour this week concerning the provisions of the Apprentices Act in practice to-day. The Department of Labour has to ask head teachers of primary schools to submit reports on all boys leaving school at the end of a year. The boys and their parents are also asked to indicate the kind of employment desired to be taken up. The idea is. of course that the Department should help in obtaining employment for boys, and to prevent as far as possible their taking up what has been termed "blind-alley occupations." The Secretary stated in the interview under notice that the Department had received reports from head teachers upon 730 boys leaving school at the end of last year. Of this number 335 are proceeding to.secondary schools, and the remainder have indicated the trades they wish to pursue. It is interesting to note, however, that not one enquiry to date had been received by the Department by employers! The main reason for the tardiness of employers in taking in new apprentices appears to be that the Arbitration Court has allowed only a certain number of boys to be employed in proportion to journeymen. However, in only two trades, viz., cabinet-making and plumbing have their quota filled. There is room in the Wellington District alone for 124 carpenter's apprentices, while only 70 are offering. There are only 28 boys desiring to take up engineering, while there is a quota shortage of 331 in the Wellington District. It cannot, of course, be expected that employers will take on boys irrespective of their needs, although there is a provision empowering the Arbitration Court to require employers in any particular trade to train their proportion or share of apprentices. There has so far application of this clause. In the country the problem arises in the hearts of many parents as to what their boys are going to do with themselves after leaving school. So many of the profession and white-collar occupations of to-day are overcrowded, and yet the call, is for education, on the principle that a navvy with the degree of Master of Arts will shovel niore and work harder than the one whose brain has been trained along a limited line of thought. With things as they are the problem is not made easy for ' the country-dwelling fathers and mothers.