NEED FOR TRAINED MEN

Close liaison and co-operation among the various agencies now operating in the field of technical assistance is essential if the available manpower is to be used to best advantage. This is all the more important in view of the expansion of the technical aid programme of the United Nations and its Specialised Agencies and of United States activities in this field through the " Point Four " programme. The organisation initiated by Commonwealth Governments may usefully act as a channel for making information available to Governments about sources from which trained men and training facilities may be sought and, where necessary, as a clearing house for requests for technical assistance. This should ensure that all agencies which may be concerned are informed, so that duplication and overlapping are avoided and the provision of men and training facilities speeded up. Discussions have already taken place with representatives of the United Nations and of its Specialised Agencies with a view to establishing the closest liaison between those operating the Commonwealth scheme and those responsible for existing schemes. 16. The Council for Technical Co-operation is to be composed of representatives from each of the participating Governments, assisted by a Bureau with headquarters in Colombo. The constitution of the Council is a flexible one, calculated to promote to the maximum practicable extent the provision of trained men and training facilities to meet the varying needs for technical assistance. It is hoped that all countries in the area will come into the scheme on equal terms with the Commonwealth countries to avail themselves of the facilities offered and to make their contribution in the spirit of cooperation in which it is devised. The main functions of the Council will include provision of such assistance as: (ia) Training of personnel from countries in the area in countries where suitable instruction is available, and the despatch of missions abroad to study the latest techniques or practices. (b) Experts, instructors and advisory missions to assist in planning, development, or reconstruction, or for use in public administration, in health services, scientific research, in agricultural, industrial, or other productive activities and in the training of personnel. (c) Equipment required for training or use by technical experts in the region. Every effort will be made to expand the training facilities in the countries themselves, if necessary, by the use of new methods and techniques. Help in this field includes university facilities for undergraduate and post-graduate study and research; training in government establishments, in technical schools, research institutions and experimental stations ; and places in factories and workshops for the training of skilled foremen and skilled workmen. It would appear that there is likely to be a lack of equipment required for training or use by technical experts and instructors since existing agencies are strictly limited in the extent to which they may make such equipment available from the resources at their disposal. The Commonwealth countries participating in the scheme are examining how they might help to remedy these deficiencies by making available suitable types of equipment such as visual aids and specialised equipment for technical training establishments. 17. Even during the period in which the details of the scheme and its organisation were still under consideration, work went forward of compiling information on the nature of the needs and the ways in which they might be satisfied. India, Pakistan and Ceylon notified other Commonwealth Govern-

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