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STAFFING THE MOTOR INDUSTRY.

15th July 1919, Page 9
15th July 1919
Page 9
Page 9, 15th July 1919 — STAFFING THE MOTOR INDUSTRY.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

By the Inspector.

0 NE CAN -understand quite well the present .anxieties of the Appointments Department of the Ministry of Labour, the, personnel of which must indeed just now be well-nigh overwhelmed with applications for employment from demobilized or abo.at-to-be-demobilized officers. The official endeavour, commendable enough in theery, to find square holes for all these square pegs is, I tear, a task surrounded by many difficulties that the Editor does not foreshadow in his issue of the 14th ultimo.

To commence with, there is no little doubt that em ployers of all kinds almost invariably look askance at Government and other " official " efforts to find and and fill " Situations Vacant." The familiar. Labour Exchange and •Official Employment Bureau, but for its subsidized war-time activities, would have proved in the end yet another tremendous failure for State organization. Any similar attempt; however praiseworthy it objects, such for instance as the one mentioned above, or that suggested by the Editor recently, is unlikely to secure any considerable measure of support from employers generally.

Without wishing to suggest invidious comparisons,

it may be assumed that the man (and whether he be an officer or a private makes not the -slightest difference) who is seeking employment and who is able to offer any particular degree of competence in return for remuneration will very rarely have to call to his aid employment agencies of any kind other than that of his own or his friends' valuation of him. Generally speaking, the Exchange Bureaus and, other agencies therefore are credited—and very often rightly, with only having on their' books candidates for employment who are, to say the least of it, un

known and unproved quantities. .

It is, of course, up to all of us to do all.we possibly

can to render the transference from military service to civilian occupation as smooth and Satisfactory as possible, but it must not be expected that manufac-, turing concerns in particular should in ,any way jeopardize their chances of success in the coming most strenuous competition by engaging staff or other help which is not, in their opinion, quite the best.obtain-. able. Wherever other things are equal, there should be no question as. to preferential treatment . being available for men -who have Sacrificed their Careers for the ,public weal. • And the kind • of glorified Registry Office.that has been suggested may assist to that end. The ,decisions, however, will always have -to rest .with the employer and not with the bureau. The auggeSted,Registrymay'only cause an embarrassi ment. of , Choice.

. . In the '''" CAA." columns recently, • publicity was

given to an appeal by • an ()fader . that inufaeturers . should afford opportunities for deiriobilized men to train'as expert salesmen. But, it has to be remembered that Manufacturers themselves; as a rule, • have few enough openings. of this kind and that, more-. over, there are always numerous claims for such opportunities by pupils. and others. of their Own -staffs who are exactly in the category under discussion.

Generally speaking, it would not be' fair to claim' that service in MT., R.A.S.C. entailed anything' like comparable hardships and dangers With those en-* countered in the fighting units, and, useful as such assistance was, service in the transport units was a form of Army employment that Was very much Sought after and was, not infrequently, the choice of the in dividual. In very many cases, there can, therefore, be no special claim upon the industry, other than the broad national one, to absorb the large numbers of officers and men whose first real acquaintance with mechanical transport arose from war circumstances Lilly. Wherever it is. at all possible, it is obviously sounder that their original careers should be pur sued—if they had any.

There are not wanting signs that the motor industry already is being crowded with newcomers Avho all expect to find a profitable and not unpleasant livelihood in one or other branches of the motor-vehicle industry in preference to Other careers. The R.A.S.C., to say nothing of the R.A.F., has fostered a liking for things automotive to such an extent that it is indeed a question as to whether there will not very soon be " too many drivers" (a question debated in these columns some months ago) but also "too many salesmen." The aircraft of the near future will, of course, not afford occupation for one in a thousand for those who were associated with it during the war, with the result that they, too, are looking in numbers to the motor industry for their new occtipation.

It has, firmly, to be remembered that now that our own industry is increasingly employing the agent, the makers themselves have less need for considerable direct-sales staffs, and that therefore if any early relief of "demobbed" officers is to be expected in this direction it will have to be via the agent as a general rule. I have always held that the pleasurecar side of the industry has suffered, at least professionally, from the attractions it presented—on the sales side—to those who thought the "motor business " a nice sporting pleasant -sort of livelihood. Fortunately, the industrial vehicle holds out no ouch inducements, so that the newcomers, if room can be found or them, will in any case bring enthusiasm with them--even if they still have to learn a lot about the £ a., d. of ion-miles. Generally speaking, Army or Government Service are not bull points for civilian employment.


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