§ Mr. HUDSONasked if university men appointed to the second class of engineers in the engineering department of the Post Office, so long as three and a half years ago, are still being trained by the department; and whether the total cost to date of training the university men now in the engineering department can be stated?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELAll the university men appointed, after competitive examination, to the second class of engineers in the Post Office are doing useful work of a kind proper to their class; and none of those appointed in 1907 are now being trained, except in so far as, like all the young Civil servants, they are continually widening their experience by carrying out fresh work under the supervision of their superior officers. It is not practicable to state the cost of training the university men on the engineering staff of the Post Office. Their ordinary period of training is six months.
§ Mr. HUDSONasked the number of men, together with their average age, who, as the result of their having received nominations from the Universities, have been appointed during the past four years to the 263 higher positions in the engineering department of the Post Office; and the number of fully-qualified officers in the sub-engineers' class, together with their average length of service in the Post Office and average age, who are awaiting promotion to the rank to which the University nominees are usually appointed on entering the post office service?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELTwenty-seven vacancies on the second-class of engineers have been filled in the last four years under the scheme of competitive examination for University candidates. The average age of the officers is twenty-four years and eight months. Thirty-six sub-engineers who have passed a qualifying examination of a considerably lower standard than the competitive examination for University candidates are still awaiting promotion, but the majority of these only succeeded in passing in March last after two previous attempts. Their average length of service in the Post Office (including unestablished service) is seventeen years and seven months, and their average age thirty-six years and nine months. Under existing regulations only one-fourth of the vacancies are given to University candidates.
§ Mr. HUDSONasked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been directed to the Engineer-in-Chief's Staff Circular, No. 158, dated April, 1908, which was issued to members of the engineering department of the Post Office, stating that in the course of a few years it will probably be found necessary to restrict nominations (for second-class staff engineerships) to candidates who are not over thirty-five years of age; and whether, in view of the fact that University men alone, in consequence of their youth, will be able to fulfil the terms of the circular, as the average age of the ordinary members of the staff who are eligible for promotion to second-class staff engineerships already exceeds thirty-five years, he will consider the desirability of withdrawing the circular in question in order that the higher grades of the engineering department of the Post Office may be open to university and non-university men alike?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELMy attention has been directed to the circular in question, but its purport has apparently been misapprehended in one respect by the hon. Member. The suggested restriction applies to the age of nomination for the 264 qualifying examination for second-class staff engineerships, and not to the age of promotion of candidates who have qualified in that examination. If it should be decided hereafter to impose the restriction, suitable candidates, whether university or non-university men, will be nominated for examination before they are thirty-five, and if successful will be promoted when vacancies occur, whether they are under or over that age.
§ Mr. HUDSONasked the Postmaster-General if it is his intention to pay the engineers recruited from outside the service on the minimum salary of the existing second-class engineers' scale; and, if so, whether he will consider the desirability of filling these positions by officers in the sub-engineers' class who are fully qualified and awaiting promotion to the second-class of engineers, replacing the sub-engineers, if necessary, by men from outside the service, so that the fully-qualified sub-engineers now awaiting promotion may receive, even temporarily, the advantage of the higher scale of pay?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELThe additional men sought from outside sources in the circumstances which I explained to the hon. Member in answer to a question on 27th March last will be paid at the minimum of the second-class engineers' scale. Fully qualified sub-engineers are already being employed on the work of substituting second-class engineers as far as possible. The question whether any additional substantive appointments for second-class engineers are warranted is receiving consideration.