Statistical Report 1935-1936 - Department of Education and Skills

76the county boroughs and the larger urban centres, the re-organisation'of the evening classes along the more practical lines suggested by thenew system of Technical School Examinations attracted an increasednumber of trade operatives and apprentices. There is also evidenceof a growing appreciation on the part of employers of the value oftechnical education. This has been reflected not only in arrangements.which have been made to arrange courses for their workers, but also,in the facilities afforded to workers desiring to attend technical classes.In certain cases, as dealt with elsewhere in the Report, employershave supplied portions of the apparatus required. The Ford Companyfor instance has supplied to the Technical Schools at Tralee, Limerick,Cork and Dublin the complete V8-30 h.p. chassis; fully equippedand in working order to be used for instruction in the Motor CarEngineering classes.In the Scientific and Technical Exhibition arranged at Ballsbridgeby the Royal Dublin Society in March, 1936, there was an interestingdisplay of sheet metalwork, motor engineering, watchmaking;plumbing, printing and radio telegraphy organised by the City ofDublin Technical Schools. The new processes of copper welding andmetal-spraying were also shown. There was an important farrierysection exhibiting a large variety of shoes made by students, and ofmodel and surgical shoes made by the instructor. It is of interest tonote in this connection, that horse-shoeing competitions are becomingan increasingly popular feature of agricultural shows, and the reportsindicate that the standard of work has risen, considerably as a resultof the farriery classes conducted throughout the country.Technical training in connection with actual or potential industriesWas again in evidence in most schemes. The following notesgive a brief description of the work done in this connection duringthe session under review ;-Sugar Beet Industry.--In the Annual Report for 1934-35, the Schemeof training for apprentices engaged in this industry was fully described.A similar scheme was in operation in 1936. At the termination ofthe sugar campaign, those apprentices who had not been released from• tha factories in 1935, were allowed to undergo a course of six months,training in technical schools. Apprentices. from the factories atCarlow, Mallow and Thurles received instruction in the local technicalschools, whilst those from the Tuam factory again attended the TechnicalSchool Ringsend, Dublin. Suitable day courses-along the linesindicated in the previous Annual Report-were followed by theapprentices released at the end of the campaign; whilst practicalclasses in metalwork, woodwork, electrical engineering and scienceWere provided for those retained. in. the factories to deal with thegeneral maintenance work ..77In accordance with the condition laid down by the Irish SugarCompany, day courses were provided for two types of apprenticeselectriciansand fitters. The general aim of these courses was to givea wide theoretical and practical training as a sound foundation uponwhich more purely specialised courses could be built.Thus allapprenticesreceived instruction in engineering science, woodwork andmetalwork, while the electricians received in addition some specialtraining in the elements of Electrical Engineering. Reports from allcentres state that the apprentices made very good progress and{'eturned to the factories capable of rendering mote efficient service.All of the seventy-two apprentices admitted to the factories in 1934have now received their preliminary course of training. The problemof the subsequent training of those apprentices to be released at theconclusion of the presentsugar campaign is being carefully consideredin the centres at which such training has alreadY been given. It isprobable that the limited equipment available in the smaller centreswill not suffice for training of the specialised character desirable andthat it will be necessary to group the apprentices according to theirtrades, irrespective of the factory in which they are employed, andprovide specialised trade instruction in selected centres. The coursesfollowed will be in line with the new Scheme of Technical SchoolExaminations and each apprentice will be given an opportunity tosecure the Junior Trade Test group certificate appropriate to hisparticulartrade.Printing Trade.-The special course for the training of the apprenticesof the printing trade in Dublin, which was fully described in theprevious Annual Report, was again held in Bolton Street TechnicalSchool during the session under review. All first year and second yearapprentices attended daily for 22t hours per week out of theiremployer's time. Owing to the rapid expansion of the trade, 16 additionalapprentices were indentured, thus increasing the total in attendanceto 52, of whom 32 were compositors and 22 machinemen. Theinstructors in charge of the course report that the apprentices made:good progress. At the termination of the course, the apprenticeswere submitted to an examination, the results of which convincedboth their employers and the trade union of the great improvement intheir efficiency. The Dublin Master Printers' Association and theDublin Typographical and Provident Society again took a very activeinterest in the progress of this course. To encourage the apprenticesthey offered prizes to the best students and as a result of the sessionaltests, eleven prizes were given to apprentices engaged on Compositors'Work and 8 prizes to those engaged on Letterpress Machine Work.