Better Standard of Apprentice Needed
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QUGGESTIONS for improving the standard of apprentices in the bodybuilding industry were put forward by Mr. W. H. Denby at the annual conference of the National Employers' Association of Vehicle Builders at Llandudno last week, The industry was not attracting a good type of youth, said Mr. Denby, because it lacked the glamour of the aircraft, electrical and shipbuilding industries. "There was no adequate and up-to-date technical-training system. The technical schools had failed to keep pace with the rapid changes in bodybuilding methods of recent years.
The speaker thought that the Association should co-operate with other bodies to prepare a series of manuals covering different types of vehicle. He submitted details of a suggested fiveyear course of training at a technical school.
Mr, J. M. Reeve, the retiring president, said at the annual general meeting that the bodybuilding industry had been much busier in the past two years than before, but profit margins had been smaller. One reason for lower profits was the retrospective wages award made by the Industrial Disputes Tribunal last year.
Mr. Reeve thought that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should reduce the burden of taxation on industry. "We as employers have to introduce incentives to our own employees to get the best out of them, and at the moment we ourselves are employees of the Inland Revenue. I feel that a little help would do all of us a lot of good," he said.
Alluding to the employees' latest wage application, Mr. Reeve said that higher wages were not the answer to present-day problems. The aim should be to reduce the cost of living. He felt that all employers should unite in an endeavour to reach stability. .
BIGGEST LONDON BUS TRIP PLAN
THE largest programme yet scheduled of special summer bus excursions has been planned for the coming season by London Transport. Buses will run from 216 points in the suburbs to carry 250,000 trippers in the next few months. Destinations will include London Airport, Whipsnade Zoo, Kew Gardens and Burnham Beeches.
The fares will be lower than those which would normally be charged for journeys of the same distance by ordinary services.
VEHICLES AT IZMIR FAIR
VEHICLES will again be exhibited at the Izmir International Fair to be held from August 20—September 20. The British Chamber of Commerce of Turkey, P.O.B. 190, Galata. Istanbul, is organizing the British pavilion, where 650 manufacturers will be represented. Nearly 1.7m. people visited the Fair last year.