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Holiday by Lorry Hints on Labour Selection
XECUTIVES and others whose functions include the selection and recruitment of labour will find much of interest in a newly issued booklet, " Selecting the Man for the Job," available from the Ministry of Labour, 8 St. James's Square, London, S.W.1.
The text takes the form of a conversation among the managing director of a• family business, the personnel officer of a large organization, a foreman and a psychologist.
The seven-point OM for assessing applicants for employment, drawn up by 'the•National Institute of Industrial Psychology, is given in an appendix, with questions which an employer needs to ask.
Stressing that to engage and train a semi-skilled worker may cost 150-£100, the booklet states that a badly placed employee is not only inefficient, but is likely to leave. A high labour turnover is difficult to arrest.
A32 pLANNING a tour of France and.Northern Spain, a married couple from Hove found that many friends wanted to join them, making a party totalling 14, including a child of 15 months. Studying Ways and means, and finances being limited, they decided to purchase a 1934 lorry for £27. .
One of the party, who happried to be a skilled mechanic, carried out an overhaul. Upholstered scats were then fitted, two cooking gas containers were strapped to the side between the wheels, and other gear, including four gas rings, a pair of pressure cookers, pots and pans, was stowed under the seat, together with 14 pillows and 28 blankets, whilst specially built tanks for 25 gallons of water and a similar quantity of petrol were fitted.. Tins of milk, meat and fish were stowed in front of the tailboard_ As a finish the lorry was painted .brightly in yellow and black.
From Spurs to Turbine Blad,es
IN London last week a film depicting 117 years of I their progress and entitled "They've Come a Long Way" was presented by Garringtons, Ltd., Bromsgrove, Worcs.
Founded by John Garrington, a blacksmith, near Darlaston, early products included forgings for tubes, spurs and gun parts. In 1840, the factory was one small shop containing a dozen hammers up to one ton and a few stripping presses. Tools included a lathe, drilling machine, planer and shaper. To hold his employees, Garrington paid them fl per week of 54 hours, instead of the standard wage of 18s. for a trained labourer.
The company, formed in 1912, became associated with Guest, Keen and Nettlefold, Ltd., in 1919, and by 1939 the production capacity had increased twelvefold. Today the forging output is claimed to be 25 per cent. of Britain's total and the forging capacities of the hammers range from 6 cwt. to over 1+ tons, whilst there are forging presses up to 5,000 tons. Employees now number 3,100. Since 1946 the production of hand tools has been a major
interest. They are forged, machined and chromium piated. Now 80 per cent. of the total is exported.
The film, which will be available through the company, also shows the plans for a new factory to produce gas-turbine blades.
A Double-decker for One
1VIANY a bus may, at times, carry only one passenger, but to find that a Leyland doubledecker is operated solely for the benefit of a single passenger, is to say the least, unusual.
This vehicle is in the service of Chipperlield's Circus, claimed to be the largest in Europe, and the bus, with part of its upper deck removed to provide the maximum possible headroom, carries a giraffe rejoicing in the name of George. Thus the once popular saying, "Where is George?" can often be answered, "In the bus."
Two 'coaches of the same make are also used as canteens, one by the circus staff, the other for a public restaurant. Each is specially adapted for the purpose, a particularly useful feature being a hinged side which drops to form a counter.