§ 3. Mr. J. L. Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in view of the shortage of personnel capable of servicing aircraft, full use is being made of the skill and experience of trained mechanics among recruits in the R.A.F.
§ Mr. de FreitasYes, Sir. If my hon. Friend has any information which seems to show that we are failing in this, I hope he will bring it to my attention.
§ Mr. WilliamsCan my hon. Friend say if there is any ground for the belief among the recruits that full use is not made of engineering skill unless they are volunteers?
§ Mr. de FreitasNo, Sir. That is not quite right. It depends naturally on the amount of training which a recruit will require. To train a man to be, for instance, Fitter I takes 25 months, and it would be impossible to take somebody who is not a volunteer for long service. Generally we make the best use we can of these men's skill.