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4-2275 ]'EDER..t\L 1v0.RKS .AG-E:rcY WORK PROJECTS ADMIUISTRATION 1 • ll!rti SEP 29 1 For Imi.1ediate Release Friday, Septenber 26 • 1941. ~ ... ~ ~ f J l WPA TR.AIUING PROGRAMS SEND THOUS.A.HDS TO DEFENSE IlUJUSTRIES Special training and placement progra'IlS of the Work Projects • Ad.ministration have cut a channel for a continuous flow of thousands of workers frora the W~A rolls to defense im'Lustrios , WP.A Cor.imissioner Howard o. Hunter said today~ By three principal mans the recently- created Division of ~raining and Reou:ploynont , under tho direction of Assista~t Car.missioner Fred R~ Rauch• is l)ror:ioting the trmisfer of q_ualifiod workers to priv~te or other governr;icnt jobs : :;;ilant 11 training, which sends WP.A. workers into plants that rcq_uisi t:ion then for training periods of not noro than four wcok, boforo tho end of which they arc generally hired as regular plant cnployees • A new progra.r.1 of 11 in- Vocation.1.l training :preouploynont 11 refrosher 11 courses , now~ yco:r old, with G curre~t enrollment of 37 ,ooo WPA CIT)loyoes . A-_pproximatoly two-thirds of tho 107,000 WPA workers :)roviously enrolled have obtained private cr:11)loynont . A soi)o.rate but con:x:i.rablc :prograr.1 is training young WPA non as aviation gro1.:nd serviconon. Facilitating tho return of WPA workers to i11·ivato eraployr.1cnt through State Cnl)loyncnt services and direct contnct ,vi th cr.ri.i:1loycrs , including farners in need of hired labor ~ The in-11la.nt d.ofonso training prograw is already operating in 72 cities in 24 States , Mr . Hunter said. WPA pays tho rnm selected r'..t tho ~1rovai li ng lcarno1·s 1 rate . Because t~e period of training, bofore , thGy ar? hired r egular conpa.ny or:rployees , averages only two and one..hn.lf weeks" thousn.."".ds of [1,S non n.r9 erpect od t o be placed in defense production jobs during tho coning · Digitized by nonth s • , NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Original from . NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2275 - 2 ~his progr::un, in i~s early weeks , has .been particularly promi~~ng in Cleveland, Chicago, Buffalo, New York City, St. Louis 1 Ka.nsas_City 1 Mo ~, " The WPA Northern I ndinna, the Los .Angeles area ru1d the Philadelphia area~ employees D.re being trainod and placed in jobs ranging from airplane a~d paxachuto production to lens grinding, in which there is an acute shortage~ Plants where the program is already under way arc locnted also in Maine, No'.•! Hrunp6iro, Ver!:OOnt, . Massachusetts, Connocti?ut, New Jersey• ~li chigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, .Arkans~s, Mississippi, LouisiD..~a, Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina~ The transfer of women from WPA jobs to defense emploY1!1ent is e:;..--pected to become an increasingly important phase of ~he in-11la::1t progra.'ll, 12 :;,alants already having been authorized to train women. In the classroom vocational tri:l.ining project of tho WPA defense reemployment program, a total of 145,000 have gone to school or a.ro now att~nding in order to qualify themselves for privntc omployme~t in specialized jobs~ A:p- proximat~ly two-thirds of t hoso who have left those courses are in private emp loyment ~ Conducted as a nati(?l1-wide ~WFA project co-sponsored by the vffice of Production Management and the u. s. Office of Education, tho vocntional program operat es in close co operation with local school officials who provide classroom and shop fncilitics. WPA workers assigned to classes on the basis of past oxperienco ~r aptitude arc paid their regular WPA wa.ecs during an eight to 12week course~ The Office of Education provides instruction for WPA enr~loyccs and others who aro enrolled. WPA omployoos arc undergoing voc ational dcf?nse training in 791 com.munitics in all of the States, the Di~trict of Colunbin, Puorto Rico nnd Hawaii. Of tho 37,000 _~t present enrolled, 12,700 arc taking machine shop courses, 5,600 welding, 3,500 sheet metal, 3,200 auto services and 2,500 aviation service Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2275 courses . Electriccl s~rvices, wood worldng and ship building and repair are other large categories. The Di vision of Training and Reem1Jloyment 1 in addition, is send.ing thousands of ' iIT>A workers not under the training programs into priv~te or other governmeYrt jobs, Mr. Hunter emphasized. Reprcsent~tivos of tho division are checking employment office files for unfilled requests for workers , calling WPA workers in from pro.tacts a..'1.d referring them directly to employment· offices and ~IIU)loyers n.nd arranging interviews for WPA workers and potential emp loyers . To meet seasonal needs for farm l aborers, pended in some areas. 1 ~ WPA projects have been sus- ~TPA workers elset·Jhere are referred to far mo1·s who apply for help through the sa,-:ie methods emr,lo;yed by tho division in requests for In an emergency, to prevent spoilage of cr9ps , qualified indu~~rial employees . workers arc released immediately to farr.1ers by project supervisors~ A special v-ocn.tional training p~ogram has prepared nearly 500 non from tho "'lvPA rolls for avio.tion ground crew work, and. 500 others arc now being trained. . Twelve-week courses arc being conc.u.ctcd currently through the Divi:::don af Training a.11<1. Roo:r:qiloym~mt 11t 49 o.irports in 29 States , with about 10 y01mg non assigned to each field~ Mr~ Hunter anticipated that acd~tional courses and extension of the program to other fields would proyide 2,000 r.1ore trained. non by next su.nr.1cr for the expanding aviation industry. •• Ground serviccnen training courses he.ve been hold, in c.11, 11t 77 airports in 37 Statos . Two-thirds of those icl10 have conplcted the courses are known to have found 0::1J.)loyr:1ent innodiatcly, nany on the fields where they were t raine~ The program is conducted _u.nder a nation-wide project co- sponsored by tho Civil Aeronautics .Adninistration, ~tl1ich auproves tho airports to be used Digitized by NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY • Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4.-2275 t' for training _and supervises technical aspects of tho courses, n...11.d the Office of Education, "'11ich is rosponsi~le for tho selection and training of instructors and supervision of the teaching. WPA peys w~ges to men selected fron its rolls for training and the salaries of instructors. Trainees are taught through actual c:x:peri~nce and classroon work to guide pilots and aid in handling planes on the ground, to service l)lancs, to inspect an~ naintain equipnent and to assist in directing traffic and field operations~ oOo Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSJTY
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