Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-04-26
War Production
Training Glasses
Only Half Full
Employment Service
Cites Reasons for
Loss of Interest

Men who come to the United
States Employment Service for re-
ferral to war production training
courses lose interest when they
cannot be assured they will be de-
ferred from the draft, USES officials
said today.
Glasses for white workers now are
operating at about half maximum
capacity, 1t was said, for several
reasons
l. The men want to be assured
they will be deferred if they take
the training and they are told that
is up to their draft boards.
2. Many lose interest when told
most jobs for which they are train
Ing are outside Washington.
3. A number of them, even in
on-deferrable jobs, are now making
larger salaries than ever before.
When they find the salary scale for
beginners in defense jobs is less
than what they are now making,
they frequently decide to hang on at
their present job until they are
called in the draft.
4. Many want to take airplance
mechanics and there are no facilities
in the center to give white trainees
such course.
Seek Navy Yard Jobs.
OF the 870 men and women now in
training schools to which USES
refers, 600 are colored workers. Of
the entire group. $50 are men and
420 are women. The latter are TAX
ing machine shop work for the
most part to get jobs in the Navy
Yard.
The greatest demand of industry,
which could be met as far as facil-
tiles go by USES. is for draftswomen.
There are facilities to train many
more of them than are taking draft
ing courses, it was said.
Although the trainees are told to
report back to USES when they COM
plete their courses if they want jobs,
most of them get jobs without the
help of USES. In some cases, they
are placed before they even complete
their courses, USES officials re-
ported
Long waits before taking a course
tend to discourage prospective
trainees but USES spokesman re-
ported the longest wait now would
be no more than three weeks.
Course Opening Today.
There are immediate openings in
several courses, particularly the
radio maintenance and repair course
which starts today for white trainees
at the War Production Training
Center, Ninth and H streets S.W.
Glasses are from 8 am. to pm.
and from 4 pm. to II pm. Fifty
more traineeS could be taken in
each class.
The four other classes now being
operated at the training center for
white workers are drafting, machine
shop, arc Welding and aceylene
welding. s.., "a, ss.s..s... s,ss7;f -
For colored trainees, classes are
now being operated at Armstrong
High School, Phelps Vocational
School and the NYA War Manpower
Commission Production Center for
aircraft mechanics, auto mechanics,
ship carpentry, drafting and blue
printing, machine shop, welding,
sheet metal work. electricity and
radio and communications.
In the colored training schools, it
was reported the order on nom
deferrables attracted a number of
Government messengers and others
with a high school education. In
some cases, draft boards have re-
ferred non-deferrables to USES to
get into training courses. A number
of these men, an official said, have
already finished their course and are
working in war production plants.