I constantly read of the shortage of skilled labour. When are today’s employers going to take a hand in solving the problem?
There was a time when the training of apprentices was their responsibility. There were no training courses.
Prospective apprentices left school at 16 and were recruited by local employers to do five years (reduced to four) on-the-job training.
This system worked successfully for years to the benefit of the local economy.
Companies such as NCR, Timex and many others, would never have got off the ground had it not been for this vast pool of skilled labour.
If the employers are finding there is a shortage of skilled labour, the solution is in their own hands. — Ex Apprentice.
Chaos at roadworks
The Kingsway roadworks
I’m surprised there hasn’t been an accident at the roadworks on Kingsway at Forfar Road.
The west-bound carriage is an absolute joke with cones infringing on the road and the lane markings not well placed. The east-bound carriage is just as bad, having two lanes merging left with again the cones infringing on the lanes.
I drive along this stretch of road daily and it amazes me how such a massive redevelopment of a very busy road can be so disorganised. — Kingsway Driver.
Not much of a celebration
I have just turned 18 and was surprised to receive a birthday card from the SNP signed by Councillor Roberts and Councillor William Dawson.
Do they really think us young people are so gullible as to be persuaded to vote SNP because they have access to their date of birth?
What kind of party would they suggest I have?
It is their party that wants to make it illegal for me to celebrate my 18th with a glass of wine or a can of beer etc. —Vicky Petrie.
Crash appeal
Would the driver of a metallic blue (possibly Citreon Saxo) car who witnessed an accident between a dark Renault Megane Scenic and a White Mazda 3 on Douglas Road, Dundee, at 5.10 on April 8, please contact me.
I would also like to hear from any other drivers who were in the queue of traffic heading south on Douglas Road and who saw the collision.
Please phone 01382 453818 or 07931 222092. — Fay Lamont.
Farm film search
Not often can we step back and consider how we ended up as we are.
But that’s just what a new series for BBC4 is going to do.
The Story of Agriculture will chart the changes over the last 100 years of farming.
We’d like to hear from anyone who has home-movies of life on the land as it was. Maybe you have moving-pictures of the first tractor in the valley, or livestock on the way to market?
Maybe your family tried out their new movie-camera by filming cows being milked.
If your home-movies help show how rural life has changed please contact me. — Jonathan Alderson, Available Light Productions, 01179 084433, jalderson@availablelight.tv.
Monarch mechanic?
A friend says the Queen was a mechanic or trained as a mechanic years ago. Can the Tele confirm if this is true or not? — Reader, Dundee.
[In 1945, the 18-year-old Queen convinced her father that she should be allowed to contribute directly to the war effort. She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service where she was trained as a driver, which included instruction on aspects relating to vehicle maintenance and drove a military truck while she served.]
Debt call
This is precisely why so many students backed the SNP last May. Alex Salmond should overturn his decision not to scrap all student debt as promised. — F.P.R.
Bad times
Now supermarkets have virtually killed off retail opposition, they can raise prices to their hearts’ content. This has happened with the private utilities. The public are now at their mercy. Bad times lie ahead, especially for the low paid. — Fair’s Fair.
THE ADDRESS for readers’ letters is - Readers’ Page, Evening Telegraph, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. They can also be placed in our post box at our offices in Albert Square, Dundee, emailed to us on letters@eveningtelegraph.co.uk or faxed on 01382 454590. We ask correspondents using a nom-de-plume or sending by e-mail to provide a name and address for reference purposes. The editor reserves the right to reject or edit any letter. Please keep letters as short as possible.*
