4l8 THE TRAINING OF FITTER-APPRENTICES. 



These practical examples must suffice to give an idea of the 

 nature of the proceeding-s conducted, and to show the value 

 which is attributed to carefully organised instruction in the lead- 

 ing industrial centres [of the Railway Administration and other 

 firms quoted]. 



In an examination of the number of aoorentices [taken 

 on] relative to the number of paid employees, it should be noted 

 that the extension of the railway system has not always affected 

 the number of apprentices proportionally. Particularly, the 

 taking over by the State of so many important railway com- 

 panies in 1880-1885 did not raise the number of apprentices to 

 a corresponding extent. Possibly the reason was that the dif- 

 ferent private companies had not all made identical arrangements 

 for the training of the new generati( n of mechanics. As soon 

 as these companies were absorbed in other State railways, the 

 railway system and tlie number of apprentices began to grow- 

 in approximately the same ratio. Of course, the number of 

 apprentices depends upon the number of fitters and turners 

 employed, and not upon the number of paid employees. Hence 

 we find that the Regulations limit the number of apprentices 

 to the measure set by the permanent [actual] requirements of 

 the State Railways, and that this number may not exceed in 

 [any] one management district twelve and a half per cent, of the 

 number of fitters and turners employed in the main and auxiliary 

 workshops [of that district] ; the number of apprentices dis- 

 tributed to each workshop in a district is then settled by the 

 Railway Administration, but this must not be less than five 

 yearlv in any one workshop by the Apprenticeship Regulations. 

 That is to say, the number of apprentices for each district is 

 first ascertained in accordance with the number of fitters and 

 turners employed in the district, and these are then distributed 

 to the individual workshops in that district, care being taken that 

 the number does not drop below the minimum of five apprentices 

 per annum per workshop. In 1914 there existed 65 special 

 " training workshops " for apprentices [dealing with the first 

 two years of apprenticeship] and two auxiliary shops where the 

 same training was given ; these special workshops were dis- 

 tributed over 21 districts, two (Berlin and Frankfort) having 

 five, and the others four, three, and two shops each according 

 to the size of the main workshops and the importance of the 

 district from railway considerations. The total number of 

 apprentices undergoing training at June, 1914, in these special 

 shops was 3,544, the smallest number in one shop being 15, and 

 the highest 117 apprentices; 22 shops had from 20 to 40, and 

 26 frcm 40 to 60 apprentices under training. 



At June, 1914, the number of apprentices in these shops 

 averaged 5.1 per cent, of the number of the mechanics and 

 unskilled workmen employed in all railway workshops ; the 

 minimum being 1.9 per cent., and the maximum 7.3 per cent. 



