Business screen magazine (1942)

TRAINING AIDS FOR WAR INDUSTRY • A IS^'sume of the L'.S. Oifiee of iidueation Vrotivnm A SAVING OF 25 to 35 percent in fXthe lime rei|uired to train millions of war industry workers las been made possible through the ise of traininj; films and related isual aids prepared hy the L. S. Mice of F.duialion, Federal Seeuity Agent y. M ore than 30.000 )rints of the first 48 training films lave been sold and are now in use hroughout the I nited States and in nany of the I nited Nations. Another .50 training films has reenUy been announced; 100 others ire in production, and contracts w ill toon be approved for an additional 00. .Audiences to w h o m these aining films have been shown are stimated to be ujiwards of 15.'<M).(IOO. lIlSTOKV OF TUt: PROC[t\M .Acting on an authorization of iungress. vocational schools of the ation, on July 1. 1940, launched . program to train workers for de■nse industries. W ith the war situlion growing more ominous, the S. (Commissioner of Education. Iiii \\ . Studebaker. saw the necest "f accelerating this defense aijiing. I nder Congressional aulorization to purchase materials for isual education, some funds for efense training were then emploved 1 prepare 18 training films. Eightm films were available for use two eeks before Pearl Harbor. Ten of lese were designed to speed up the aining of shipbuilders. Si EJECTS Made as Needed Subjects have been added as the ar Manpower Commission reportI critical needs for trained workers the various war industry fields, he full list of areas for which 198 ms are available or in production Hows ; achine shop skills 84 upbuilding skills .40 rcraft manufacturing skills 25 iper\isory training 20 igineering 10 atical glass 6 elding ^ 5 irni work 5 Tging 3 The twenty supervisorv training ms are being created to crack what s workers themsehes have deired to be the most critical bottleck of war production, namelv. tter forenianship. The ten engiering films deal with heat treat iiinber Fivf — i9-H ment of steel, inspection nicthod> insuring accuracy down to millionths of an inch, and the use of electronic de\ ices in inspection. Film on Sheep Shearing Four of the five farm work films deal with reconditioning farm equipment while the fifth is on food preservation. Another deals with sheep shearing. Invitations to bid have been sent out and contracts are being awarded to cover approximately 300 additional visual aid units that will be financed from the -82.000,000 appropriation made available for this purpose by Congress for the current fiscal year. Prices Cover Only Costs The first war training films were made with an allocation by Commissioner Studebaker of .S238.000 of the defense training funds appropriated by Congress. After viewing the first products. Congress voted ■SI. 000.00(1 for an expanded program beginning July 1. 1942. Last spring. (Congress increased the appropriation for the current fiscal year to -S2.000.000. Under the terms of the first appropriation, films were sold to users at the cost of film stock plus the reel. In connection with the current apprc)priation, however. Congress asked that the prices to the user cover the cost of production as well as the cost of film stock. How Prodlction Starts When a war industry skill has been placed on the critical list by the War Manpower Commission, the visual aids division begins to consider whether training films can help shorten the training time and thus assist to relieve the labor shortage. By terms of the appropriation, areas in which it is proposed that films be made must be referred to the \V ar Manpower Commission. Sometimes the requests for films come from agencies such the Navy, U. S. Public Health Service, or other war agencies. Once an area has been approved for visual aids, planning begins, first of all, by making occupational and job analyses. For example, a flow chart of the process of building a bomber has been prepared showing all the parts and all the skills required to make the specific parts, and to put the parts together. (Jnce this has been done, the \ isual aids division staff, together with industrv experts, select those jobs which are critical and in which films can help. These preliminary plans are then checked with the AS ar Manpower Commission, other interested war agencies, and the major industries concerned. They are also checked with an Office of Education .Advisory Connnitlee. Job Sheets Are Prei'akeu Visual aids experts then work with authorities in the field to prepare job sheets which become the outlines for the films. (Contracts for production are then let by Procurement Division. I . S. Treasury Department. Once the bidder has been approved, two staff men are assigned to the picture: one. an expert in visual aids, and the other, a technician familiar with the particular skills. The contract requires that the motion-picture producer work with a local advisory committee to guide the actual making of tlie film. These committees, nominated by the state vocational directors, are made up of representatives of Industrv. union members, and vocational teachers. They are the "cream of the craft." Any differences of opinion in regard to what is best practice in the particular industry are referred to the American Standards Association and may in turn be referred to a professional organization such as the American Society of Tool Engineers. Distribution Is Nationwide One company. Castle Films, Inc.. has been awarded on bid, the contract for distributing films made by 23 producers. This company advertises the availability of films made and supplies the demand through various retail outlets. Castle Films. Inc.. the company which holds the distribution contract, has more than 2.000 retail outlets located in all of the 48 states. These dealer outlets offer experienced counsel on projection problems as well as film previews. I.ndlstry and Edication Am Leading American manufacturers have cooperated generously in helping the Office of Education to create training films. They have permitted motion-picture producers to make the films in their plants and have (please tirn to pace 24 1 ifl