Show General Bradley Scores r G. G I. I Training Chiselers The veterans' veterans administration has officially recognized the widespread abuse of the the on-the-job training program by both u unscrupulous scrupulous employers and unscrupulous veterans General Omar Bradley veterans administrator in a speech at the n national encampment of the United Spanish War Var Veterans Vets Vet Vet- erans erans s i in Milwaukee said there there was danger of a national scandal involving the waste of many millions of dollars of federal money The dishonest employer and the unthinking veteran he said have already infected the program in many states The to assist the on-the-job training program was designed veterans to readjust themselves to civilian life by supplementing supplement supplement- ing sm small beginners' beginners wages in various trades and occupations with federal subsistence allowances The allowances arc are 65 65 a month for single veterans and 90 for those with dependents Educational privileges were provided under the G. G I I. I bill for veterans But many of these reh returning service men do not want to go to school Many of them want to learn trades or occupations which could not be learned in school nearly as well as on the job But th their ir pay would be small as beginners In Inmany Inmany Inmany many cases they would be earning the wages of an year old boy just out of high school but as a result of their military service these thes veterans are ire today men of 22 or 23 many of them married and with families They are arc entitled to a break break and and the the on program was designed to give them that break Unfortunately the program has been widely abused Many veterans have made the program a racket While drawing a good salary as an experienced they have continued to still get the government subsistence allowance which they do donot donot donot not need and to which they are not entitled For instance take the case cited by General Bradley of a department store advertising advertising advertising adver adver- manager drawing a a month salary who applied for fora a subsistence allowance on the grounds that he was training g for the job as store president On the other hand a number of employers have taken advantage advantage advantage ad ad- vantage of the program to hire help at standard below-standard wages Again take the case cited by General Bradley of a garage owner who lowered the wage of a mechanic from the standard 35 to 23 when the veteran applied for far his allowance Another weakness is that the period of training or apprenticeship apprenticeship apprenticeship in many trades is excessive three excessive three or four or five or six years to learn a trade or occupation which should be learned in a afew afew afew few months General Bradley noted Something is wrong when it takes three years to learn to be a stock clerk in one state and three months in another It is a shame that this the on-the-job training program has been abused and misused in this fashion It is fundamentally a sound program for helping the returning v veteran teran but if this sort of chiseling and racketeering continues the whole program will be discredited General Bradley declared the trouble was in iu lack of control and supervision Under the G. G I I. I bill the certification certification certification of establishments for training and the supervision of the training is placed in the hands of the states and states and frequently state boards or officials lack the ability the staffs or the desire to do a good job General Bradley said he intended to ask congress congress congress con con- gress to tighten controls and he meanwhile called upon state and federal agencies to tighten up supervision and attempt to eliminate abuses Certainly something should be done to make this program work in the way it was intended to work for the benefit of veterans who need a lift in readjusting to civilian life without wasting millions of dollars of taxpayers' taxpayers money |