Training Reinforcements for the Workshop Front
Page 22
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AS a, result of the intensification of demand for armaments, vehicles. and similar supplies, 'Coupled with the call-up of certain classes of men in factories and workshops, careful planning has been necessary to ensure the maintenance of full production in industry. The labour problem was, and is, a difficult one, but Government Training Centres, run by the Ministry of Labour and National Service, are doing invaluable work in transforming into engineers men and women formerlk in other occupations.
By official arrangement they also give instruction to men and women of the Forces who are to be employed in the mechanical branches. A further feature of the work is their training for up-grading of employees already engaged in industry.
Since the beginning of the war many soldiers have been trained at such Centres, and now the A.T.S. are undergoing similar courses. The first A.T.S. metal machinists (" metal" to distinguish them from sewing machinists!) recently commenced training at one of the Government Training Centres in the south, where other girls in khaki are learning to be fitters. They are' all to have a four-months' course, one of the longest undertaken in their branch of the Service.
Mechanical Aptitude a Vital Qualification
This particular Centre will soon be training about 100 members of the A.T.S. at a time, and batches of those qualified will be passed out each month. Fitters and machinists will be posted to Army Ordnance Depots which maintain military equipment. All the A.T.S. trainees are between 18 and 22 years of age. Although most of them have had factory experience in civil life, some were shop assistants and one a milk roundswoman. Recruits for this course are specially picked by the A.T.S., as they must have mechanical aptitude and a knowledge of elementary mathematics.
During a visit to an important Government Training Centre at Manchester, where hundreds of men and women are constantly under instruction, a representative of "The Commercial Motor" saw 'something of the system that has enabled many thousands of hitherto inexperienced workers to take their places in war industry. • In passing, it is interesting to observe that, in general outline, the instructional scheme was built up
• during the years that preceded the war. Naturally, the past three years have seen a great expansion in the work, and undoubtedly these Centres will have a valuable service to perform in the settling-down period when peace returns. Those iow under instruction include women of all ages, youths and the older men, as well as a number of persons disabled on war service or in air raids . . . they have previously followed almost every known calling.
Needs of Industry a Main Consideration
In the beginning they volunteer for training or, maybe, they are directed to attend the Centre by the Ministry of Labour and National Service. Normally, the Employment Exchange will send those concerned to their, nearest Training Centre, where they will be interviewed by officials and will start on their courses immediately. If a trainee is considered to have special ability he or she will be allocated to the trade in which the best progress is likely.
In general. however, considerations to which greatest regard must necessarily be paid are the needs of industry in the immediate future,. but, all things being equal, every endeavour is made to prepare the candidate for the type of work most desired. There is a job for everyone, and soon the recruits to industry are learning workshop customs, safety regulations and other procedure by means of lectures.
The bulk of their time is spent in practical work, nnd at the start they learn the effective use of simple tools, such as the hammer, chisel, file and hacksaw, first making accurate shapes in metal and, that accomplished satisfactorily, proceeding to more advanced work. A substantial portion of the training is linked up with actual production in tht ,Centre's workshops.
The initial course lasts for eight weeks, and candidates who, at the end of that-period, have proved they have the necessary qualities are given a continuation course, so that they can undertake more highly skilled duties. The Centre is run entirely on the factory principle, with a three-shift system in operation, the trainees changing from shift to shift each week. They clock on in the usual, manner, andi the canteen provides their main meal at reasonable charges. Working hours average 44 a week, for which men on ordinary courses receive 65s. 6d. and women 43s. Provided the trainees pass the varibus tests they receive two increases during the course.
Instructors are all fully qualified tradesmen drawn from their particular trades. Throughout the Centres can be seen tools of all types required in a first-class engineering shop— milling machines, capstans, automatics, precision grinders, etc.
At one Centre or another provision is made for training practically every 'kind of engineering worker. Apart from the usual output at Manchester and many other Centres, men are prepared for entry into manr other highly specialized trade groups.•
Capabilltlei Determine .
Trainees' Positions
The Manchester Centre is typical of -numerous others up and down the country where men and women, from both industrial and rural districts, receive their training. Although. there is a whole network of such establishments, many of the trainees live too far away from the nearest place to travel in daily, so they are boarded in the district and are paid a subsistence allowance in addition to their wages. Labour is supplied to every kind of factory connected with the war effort, and trainees are placed in jobs for which their respective capabilities are suitable.
Officials at the Centres, whilst endeavouring to satisfy all industry's demands for workers, make eyery effort to fit the thousands of men and women concerned into situations for which they are most suited and in districts that are as convenient as possible. It is through channels such as these that the labour intake is being steadily strengthened, and British manufacturers of transport and fighting vehicles aided' to keep the production graph steadily moving.