PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS- 41 



Generally the articles were sold to the trade. The principle 

 of manufacturing full-sized articles of a saleable character 

 worked out so well that it was eventually extended to 

 house building by the trainees in the building trades. In 

 most of the States there are to be seen very well constructed 

 houses built entirely by the students under the Vocational 

 Training Scheme. The houses were built either for the 

 War Service Commissioner or for the State Housing Boards. 



The authorities controlling the Technical Schools keenly 

 appreciated the necessity of carrying on the training on 

 the lines as just described, and very soon had classes in 

 operation to meet the needs of the Returned Soldiers. It 

 was impossible in all cases, to establish special soldiers' 

 classes, so that some students under the Vocational Train- 

 ing Scheme had to be taken in the ordinary classes, but 

 generally speaking all classes in Technical Schools, and 

 certainly all in the special schools established by the 

 Repatriation Department, were designed and operated 

 practically as school workshops, wherein were given 

 courses of intensive training in practical work on full-sized 

 articles of a saleable kind. The preliminary training 

 periods lasted generally three months for little skilled 

 callings, six months for medium skilled, and twelve months 

 for the more highly skilled trades. Generally the industrial 

 training period which followed the preliminary training, 

 lasted for about twelve months for the highly skilled trades, 

 with proportionate reductions in time for the medium and 

 little skilled occupations. 



Those of the men put into training, who were really 

 desirous of learning, and most of them were so, and who 

 were well suited by inclination and aptitude for the train- 

 ing being given, made progress at a rate which can best 

 be described as amazing. The Australian can always be 

 credited with remarkable powers of adaptability to circum- 



