TRADE UNION OFFICIALS AND GOVERNMENT TRAINING CENTERS.

The article presents a survey among full-time area or regional union officials in one part of Great Britain where difficulties were known to have occurred in the government training centers (GTC), the North East of England, from the Cleveland Hills to the Scottish border. The enquiry was conducted in 1966, about half-way through the expansion in the GTC provision. Interviews were sought and obtained with officials of ten craft or ex-craft unions participating in the training schemes. Nearly all of them were especially concerned with the engineering or construction industries, since the courses laid on were mainly for training in these fields. There were a variety of agreements, both national and local, between the different unions and the Ministry of Labour, which regulated union and GTC relationships and especially the treatment of those who satisfactorily completed training courses. In general, however, it seemed agreed that the management of the centres went a good long way to assist those officials who were anxious to settle trainees in employment without friction.