FINDING JOBS FOR JUVENILE WORKERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 185, 26 October 1927, Page 9

FINDING JOBS FOR JUVENILE WORKERS

A BIG PROBLEM SOCIETY TO BE FORMED Suggesting that the seriousness of the position with regard to vocational guidance demands the earnest attention of till who are interested in national welfare, the executive committee of the proposed Auckland Education Society has prepared the following report, which will be presented at a further conference to be held on November 7. ,

“With serious misgivings,” the report states, “the conference notes the difficulty experienced by parents in finding suitable employment for their boys and girls at the termination of their school course, together with the difficulty experienced by employers in securing the most suitable juvenile workers.” The conference will also be asked to affirm the belief that the underlying causes are mainly:

(a) The variation of economic conditions.

(b) The imperfect adjustment between the school training and the subsequent practical life. (c) Lack of foresight and adequate available information to guide parents in the choice of occupations, together with (in some cases) lack of means on the part of parents to provide the necessary post-primary or secondary training for suitable occupations. (d) Haphazard methods of selection on the part of employers. The following resolution will also be submitted: “This conference is unanimous in urging that the Government should view its solution as a matter of national importance, believing that great benefit would accrue from a courageous facing of the problem.” Among the constructive suggestions offered are the establishment of ai Dominion juvenile employment bureau, under the control of the Education Department, and the use of the Education Gazette for the dissemination of the bureau’s information throughout the schools of the Dominion, so that boys and girls might be kept in touch with the varying requirements of different industries. There should be a gradual differentiation of the school course at 11 years, providing a good general cultural training, and offering a sufficient variety of activity to satisfy the needs and develop the capacities of individuals. It is proposed that all persons 21 years of age and over, resident in Auckland, shall be eligible for membership to the new society, which it is proposed to call the Auckland Educational Society.