Careers

Short Works Courses are now being regularly attended by Peterites, and the majority of those who have attended one or more courses are very enthusiastic about them. This summer nine boys have been accepted for courses which include introductions to careers in aeronautical engineering, chemicals, electrical engineering, manufacture of fertilisers, the metallurgical industry, and railway administration. Younger boys, who may be considering applying for a place on a Short Works Course in the next year or two, should note that there is a greater range of courses and a much larger number of places offered in the summer holidays. Despite this, the number of applications is proportionally very much higher for the Easter courses, and it is therefore more difficult to secure a place, especially on popular courses such as those dealing with aeronautical, automobile, or electrical engineering.

Latest additions to the Careers File include information from the following firms :— Mullard, Ltd. : Electrical and electronic engineering. Crompton Parkinson, Ltd. : Electrical engineering. Richardsons, Westgarth & Co., Ltd. : Marine and turbine engineering. Hawthorn, Leslie & Co., Ltd. : Marine engineering. Colvilles, Ltd. : Iron and steel manufacture. Marks & Spencer : Managerial careers in the retail trade. Babcock & Wilcox, Ltd. : Steam and turbine engineering.

Early in the Summer Term I visited two of the factories of the Richardson Westgarth Group. The Group has factories in the three main industrial areas of the north-east, at Wallsend, Sunderland, and West Hartlepool, and manufactures marine engines and turbines for the generation of electricity. The products of the Group have a very high reputation, and their training would stand a boy in very good stead. The very nature of their work precludes mass production, as their products have to be "tailor-made" to suit differing circumstances. As a result, a boy under training would have experience of all phases of engineering from planning to manufacture and would obtain a broader knowledge of engineering than in a large mass-production factory. The Group is anxious to recruit both engineering graduates and boys straight from school who have a flair for engineering (though they need not have been following a scientific course of study at school). It is also interesting to note that a training such as is offered by the marine engineering sections of the Group forms a valuable pre-sea training for the boy whose desire is to become a ship's engineer.

The information from Hawthorn, Leslie & Co., Ltd was supplied by one of the directors of the company who is an Old Peterite. Since the Careers Room was established three years ago only one other

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