The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1941-01-30
'Gyp' Schools Rise
To Offer Training
For Defense Jobs

MINNEAPOLIS trade
schools are springing up all over
the United States to take advantage
of the anxiety of young men to Sc
cure quick training for defense jobs.
Like most rackets, the "gyp" job
training school is fourishing on
wave of popular enthusiasm for
something legitimate, and is mus
cling in' among the many legitimate
schools for trade and vocational
training.
The job of separating the good
schools from the bad is complicated
for the ambitious young job seeker
by the fact that some new trade
schools are entirely legitimate and
have been established due to the
fact that many older schools are al
ready crowded to capacity and have
long waiting lists.
High pressure statesmen for the
"gyp" schools have already filched
the savings and secured the con-
tract signatures of thousands of am
bilious young job seekers by guar
anteeing" jobs with the big airplane
plants and other defense production
industries, and by representing that
their schools have ideals" with such
companies to supply them with
trained employees, according to a
report by the Northwestern National
Life Insurance company.
The situation has become so bad
that major aircraft companies have
been flooded with inquiries and COM
plants regarding guaranteed
placements" promised by such
statesmen; several California COM
panies have issued warning bulle-
tins to the effect that they had au.
thorized no such agreements, I'M
derstandings, or guarantees. Cham
bers of Commerce in various de-
tense industry centers are issuing
warnings on the subject.
The report emphasizes that the
two principal faults of the racket"
trade school are to oversen the OPP
portunity in the first place and to
undertrain in the second place.
The report suggests simple tests
which any youth can apply to the
school he is considering, before he
pays any money down or signs an
application blank. He should de-
mand list of recent graduates of
the school. He should get in touch
with several such graduates, either
by personal contact or by letter,
and ask them the following three
simple questions:
l. Was the course satisfactory?
2. Did it help you to secure a
job?
3. Has it helped you win advance
ment in your job, or if you have
been employed only a short time,
do you feel that it is likely to help
you win advancement?
In the case of newly established
school the prospective student
should enlist the help of some older
friend, to investigate the financial
responsibility of the sponsors, the
completeness of the equipment, and
the previous connections of the in
StructorS. Public school authorities
can usually give helpful information
about local private school, and the
report emphasizes that legitimate
school will welcome investigation.
The report also warns that a GER
tain proportion of young men, due
to individual tastes, mental charac-
teristics, and personality type, could
not be fitted to hold a job in a
mechanical or technicaltrade. There
fore, the legitimate trade schools in
variably examine the qualifications
of the applicant and refuse to &C
cept those who they feel cannot be
successfully trained. The "gyp"
school exercises no such selection,
but accepts any applicant who can
raise the amount of the down pay
ment.