BLIND-ALLEY OCCUPATIONS.
CTo THE EDITOR Or THE " RrEcTATOR."1 Sia,—" M. G. C.'s " letter in your last issue raises a very much larger question than that of errand-boys, and that is the need for technical business training to supplement educa- tional training. My view is that it should be compulsory for every boy to learn a business or trade, and that that training should immediately follow his schooling. There is no reason why during that period a boy should not be paid something, which, if not enough even to contribute to his keep, would at any rate supply him with reasonable pocket-money, and thus in some measure satisfy his natural desire to be earning some- thing. As a matter of fact, that is what he does now—without learning anything! We have not to consider the exceptionally smart boys who get on in spite of all obstacles, but the average boy, who wants a little pushing on, and who in the end will become a tolerably useful workman instead of an in- competent employee. Any boy of fifteen or sixteen should be worth from 10s., increasing to £1 a week up to twenty years of age, to any employer if he is also trained during that period, and most boys should be capable of earning considerably more than that by the time they are twenty. The non-payment of apprentices is the chief cause of the trouble, but another is the custom of employers requiring fees by way of premiums—that is an unwarrantable extortion. It is most difficult to obtain employees of any kind who are really trained and skilful, and that is an immense handicap for a country to carry.—I am, Sir,
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