§ 19. Mr. Dayasked the Minister of Labour the number of persons admitted during the 12 months ended the last convenient date to the residential instructional centres started in 1929; and how, according to his latest report, these camps, in cluding the various types of training, differ from the civilian conservation camps that have been established in the United States of America?
§ Mr. E. BrownThe number of men admitted to the residential instructional centres during the 12 months ended 30th April, 1939, was 22,112; The main differences between these centres and the Civil Conservation Corps camps are the age limits for entry, the method of organisation, the size of the scheme and the length and scope of the training. The age limits for the instructional centres are 18 to 45, whereas for the Civilian Conservation Corps camps they are 17 to 23, except for a small proportion of war veterans. The organisation in America is 1591 in the hands of the Army, whereas here it is under the Ministry of Labour. The number of men in training at any one time here is from 3,000 to 5,000, whereas in America there are from 300,000 to 400,000. The length of the course here is three months, whereas in America it is six months, with the possibility of extension to two years if the trainee wishes. In the instructional centres there is a certain amount of workshop training, but the bulk of the work is road and bridge making, together with a certain amount of work on forestry plantations, all carried out on the estates of the Forestry Commission. In America, outdoor work includes also afforestation, land reclamation, as well as technical education and workshop training. In America, however, the Civilian Conservation Corps camps form the only scheme in operation. Here, in addition to the residential instructional centres, there is the scheme of Government training centres, where intensive courses of workshop training are given.