At the end of a six months
course, most of the students are
ready for regular jobs and a large
percentage have obtained work,
either by themselves or through
the ministry.
But they are not the traditional
type of apprentices. The training is
entirely different and officials say
there is far more interest and en
thusiasm manifested.
Pit Boys Deft as Waiters
One important trade or vocation
taught is that of waiter.
Young men, selected from the
coal regions or manufacturing
towns, are taught to keep them
selves and their clothes clean, and
are put through a difficult waiter
training course.
A regular restaurant is their
laboratory. They take turns at the
various waiter tasks, such as cap
tain, table waiter, assistant wait
er and bus boy.
All of the graduates of these
courses are snapped up by leading
hotels and restaurants like the Sa
voy, Ritz and swanky Claridge's.
These waiters work around in all
dining room jobs and then the
better ones are picked for conti
nental training. They are sent to
Prance, Switzerland, Germany and
other countries on an exchange
basis for a year or more.
Jobs No Longer Menial
Young English waiters thus get
an idea of the way meals are
served in foreign cities and also
learn something of foreign langu
ages.
At the center they are given rudi
mentary training in French "kitch
en words” and they must be able
to read and write a French menu.
The general idea behind the class
is to give England home-bred wait
ers in the future instead of im
porting them, from the continent.
Until only recently, waiting on
table has been looked upon as a
menial, undignified Job, beneath
the average Britisher.
