C—3

Departmental Training (1) Field Training.—Some 52 technical trainees were receiving field training, advantage being taken of the wide range of conditions and operations on forests throughout the Dominion to give them varied rotational experience. The number of new recruits was offset by a similar number of senior trainees being promoted to forest rangers and by others commencing University study towards professional training. Junior forest workmen also were given training in the branches to which they belong; and courses for junior labourers, leading hands, and timber measurers were held during the year at the Rotorua Training Centre." (2) Clerical Training.—With the extension of activities within the Service, there has been a greater demand for clerical servicing not only on the main offices, but also at forest stations where no clerical assistance has been given previously. Recruitment alone is not the solution to the additional clerical work involved ; training means increased efficiency, consequently more attention has been given to the training of existing staff. The need for more organized training was recognized during the year by the appointment of a Clerical Staff Training Officer ; and full advantage is now being taken of the facilities at the Rotorua Training Centre for short courses of instruction. Staff lectures, conferences, and job rotation were continued. ' (3) Rotorua Training Centre.—Twelve courses were held at the Rotorua Training Centre, compared with seven in the preceding year (see Appendix X); consequently it was sometimes necessary to conduct two courses simultaneously, taxing the limited space available. At the present rate of progress (approximately one a month) with short courses —technical, clerical, and vocational —the type of instruction to serve present needs should be sufficiently disseminated throughout the Service by 1950 to warrant some slowing down. Thereafter a long-term training policy, looking to the future rather than to immediate needs, can be developed. The trend of instruction has been to cut lecture-room work to a minimum and incorporate an adequate amount of field-work for demonstration purposes, theory having proved satisfactory only when adequately combined with practice. The total personnel passing through the Training Centre during the year was 201, including those engaged on tool-maintenance courses. As courses have become more standardized, the number of instructing personnel has been reduced, and there have been fewer calls upon staff outside the Training Centre. The quality of the technical trainee group has been well up to standard, mentally and physically. Twenty-two recruits passed through the trainee preliminary course. The course for senior trainees revealed that, although their standard was satisfactory, more field training is required if they are to cope with the problems confronting presentday field officers. An interesting departure this year was the secondment of 2 junior officers of the Fiji Forest Department for six months' training in the New Zealand Forest Service. The Tapanui Forest Vocational School, which was established as a post-war measure to train ex-servicemen and leading hands, has fulfilled its purpose and was closed during the year. The number of men requiring this type of training is now small enough to be -.handled entirely by the Rotorua Training Centre. There were two courses at Tapanui during the year : one for junior labourers and one for leading hands. Forest Research Institute (1) General. —Satisfactory progress was made in the development of the Forest Research Institute (previously known as the Forest Experiment Station) during the year, and certain projects, particularly those connected with volume and yield tables, have already produced results of value. The preparation of a programme of both routine and special investigations for the next three years is now envisaged.

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