The Juvenile Employment Service

Abstract

The subject of the thesis is the Juvenile Employment Service, which was established by statutory authority in the early years of this century to guide and place young people in search of employmenl. The Service raises some interesting administrative problems because it is open to the Local Education Authorities to administer it in their own areas, and if they decide not to take advantage of their permissive powers it falls to the Ministry of Labour and National Service to do so.The main purpose of thi3 thesis is, therefore, to compare the methods and results of the Ministry of Labour and National Service and of the Local Education Authorities and to oonsidor which of the two authorities seems to be most suited to be in charge of the Service. In order to do this four areas have been chosen, in two of which the Local Education Authories are in charge of theService, and two which are left to the Ministry of Labour and National Service to administer, A detailed comparison is made between them, including staff, premises, and the most important parts of the work vocational information and guidance, placing and after care. The first part of the thesis provides the background for this comparison in a study of juvenile employment, and the conclusion, after making allowances for the unavoidable difficulties encountered by the Service, attempts an assessment of its work as a whole. The problems of the Service's future, including the question of whether its use should be made compulsory, are disoussed and finally a decision reached whether the Ministry of Labour and National Service or the Local Education Authorities should administer the Service,