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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 12 (April 1, 1930)

Aptitude Classifications

Aptitude Classifications.

Although endorsing the principle of trade schools, more might be said of a better method of selection. At present we are working upon “hit or miss” methods in accepting apprentices. No matter how perfect the system may be, the fact remains that the boys choose, by their applications, their own field of work.
“Each excellent thing, once well learned, serves for a measure of all other knowledge.”—Sir P. Sidney. (Rly. Publicity photo.) The Apprentice Class in session at the Hutt Valley Workshops, Wellington.

“Each excellent thing, once well learned, serves for a measure of all other knowledge.”—Sir P. Sidney.
(Rly. Publicity photo.)
The Apprentice Class in session at the Hutt Valley Workshops, Wellington.

The time will come, I have no doubt, when more exact methods will be introduced to find out the most suitable class of work for any particular boy. Investigation along the line of “aptitudes” has produced such tests as “The Stenquist Mechanical Aptitude Tests.” These are designed to find out (a) how far a boy is “mechanically minded” as a result of contact with ordinary machinery such as he is likely to meet in everyday life, or (b) to solve simple questions depending upon accurate observation of certain mechanical facts. They demand no acquired knowledge, in the ordinary sense of mechanical construction whatsoever.

The engineer will appreciate at once the gain these tests will give. It is essential that, in an assembly shop, plans and sketches of component parts should be readily assimilated. Time wasted upon questions and long oral explanations cannot be made up; a pre-requisite for such a shop is that aspect of mentality which the tests are designed to measure. Unitl there is evolved some method of classifying boys under certain aptitudes there is a possibility of round pegs being fitted into square holes. Such a condition means mental strain on the individual, and production is hampered by slow and poor work without the foreman being certain of the cause. Generally, the signs of industrial misfits are abundant. Slipshod work combined with continuous sickness of a slight nature, e.g., headaches, “not feeling up to the mark,” etc., often point to something being wrong. Add to this a machine which needs continual attention, drawn features, and an admission that the workman is “done up” at the end of his labour unit, and you have discovered a potential social menace—the round peg in a square hole. It is not right that health should suffer, nor is it reasonable to expect an individual so affected to reach the maximum output. It is better that he be transferred to work at which his capabilities can be utilised without the inner strain—the outward signs of which we have just noted. How many boys are drafted into wrong jobs it is impossible to judge, but in a highly specialised organisation such as our Railway Department there is no place for “trial and error” methods. Selectivity would pay handsomely.