Education in Railway Working.

The Department recognises that the value of a member to the service is determined largely by the extent of his education and training, coupled with such essential personal characteristics as initiative, energy and capacity.

The provision of improved facilities for education in railway working for the benefit of the staff is a feature of the Department's general principle of conforming to the best practices obtaining in modern large scale enterprises. A correspondence course covering a varied range of subjects, from the fundamental principles of train running work to rules, regulations and tariff charges, is provided. At half-yearly intervals examinations are conducted to determine the extent to which members are taking advantage of the facilities afforded for gaining both theoretical and practical knowledge of railway work.

The scheme of staff education includes, also, instruction on technical subjects to apprentices employed in the Department's Workshops, while encouragement is given to the formation by members of the staff at large centres, of classes for instruction in First Aid.

Passing along the row of busy clerks our attention is directed to one engaged in recording the results of a recent examination and preparing statistical data in connection therewith. A neat card-filing system facilitates the establishment of a permanent and accurate record of the results attained by each member at the examinations. Success at these examinations is a vital factor affecting the advancement and salary increments of the candidates.