Evening star., 1941-03-18
Patterson Cites Need
For Large-ScaIe
Worker Training
Success of Presidents
Defense Plan Declared
To Require Ample LoboI
BY JAMES FREE.

Pointing out that military duty
will take about 100000 men from
the labor market this year and that
at least three to four million new
jobs will be created in defense in
dustries, Undersecretary of War
Robert P. Patterson declared today
that training of skilled workmen on
a large scale is essential to meet
production schedules for war ma
terial.
"The success of the Presidents
announced all-out defense effort"
Mr.. Patterson said in an address
before a conference of metal trades
management and labor representa-
tives at the departmental audi
torium, depends largely upon a
reservoir of skilled labor"
Mr.. Patterson said that an in
adequate supply of skilled men is
creating bottlenecks in a number of
vital industries. And he added that
reports reaching the War Depart
ment indicate that some contractors
were considering taking skilled
Workmen from other industries.
Such piracy of labor cannot be
tolerated." the Undersecretary as
serted. go Such a procedure, if
persisted in, will result in a spiral
ing of wages and serious dislocation
to production without solving the
basic problem of developing addi-
tional skilled Workmen."
Extra Shifts Urged.
Admitting that there will be great
difficulty in expanding the worker
training program to meet essential
industrial expansion needs Of the
next IL months, Mr.. Patterson said
that ''in many cases these indus
tries could vastly expand their pro-
ductive operations if skilled labor
were available in numbers sufficient
to add a second shift to current op-
erations."
"At this moment" he continued,
more than three-fourths of the
workers in national defense indus
tries are employed in plants operat-
ing only one shift. OF the remaining
25 workers in every hundred, 19 are
employed in plants working two
shifts and six out of 100 in plants
operating three shifts
The Undersecretary cited figures
to show the scarcity of skilled labor.
"Ninety-one out of every hundred
workers in the machine tool industry
are now working overtime" he ex-
planned, land the average amount OF
weekly overtime is 1912 hours. SIM
ilarly, very large percentage of en-
ployes are working overtime more
than an average of one day per week
in each of the following industries:
Firearms, machine tool accessories,
shipbuilding, ammunition, brass.
bronze, copper and electrical ma
chinery."
He said that estimates by the Sec
retary of Labor that three to four
million new jobs would be created in
defense industries in 194l are con
servative"
English Training Plan Cited.
Mr.. Patterson outlined to the con-
ference-which is considering means
of enlarging and improving the Ma
tons in-plant training program to
develop skilled workers - methods
that England is using to solve this
problem.
In preparing men for the lowest
level of skills, he said, England is
providing two-month courses in $50
technical colleges for men as young
as 16 years of age. To instruct men
in semi skilled work the British gov
eminent operates three-month
courses at % centers. And in the
highest classification of skills. Eng
land conducts in-plant training sub
sidized by the government and con-
Quoted by the management.
The conference, attended by Is
leading industrialists and labor
unior executives in the metal trades,
has appointed a Findings Commit
tee which is expected to meet late
today and formulate report on
the two-day session. Members OF
this committee are Clinton Golden.
regional director of the Steel
Workers Organizing Committee,