For the disabled man any course which provides only the theory will fail absolutely in making a man useful to the average employer. It will be necessary to locate the man in a selected situation where his handicap will count for the least and then train him to overcome entirely the handicap. If the school can help with this training the man should go to school, but in a majority of cases it will be necessary for the shop to provide the training, supplemented by evening courses or correspondence-school work. The latter would be quite satisfactory in pattern-drafting and cost-estimating courses.
PLAN No. 922. FACTORY WORKERS
Factory production of articles made of sheetmetal implies that machines will be used where possible. Parts will be stamped out with dies and hollow ware drawn to shape in large presses. The hand operations, as a rule, will be confined to riveting, soldering, and assembling parts.
Where disabled men can qualify it will not be difficult to place them on machines or at hand operations. While the pay will be lower than in the outdoor branch of the trade, work will be steadier and less dependent on weather conditions. Men with a variety of disabilities can find places. Training will be given on the job by foremen. Previous experience in any branch of sheet-metal work will be of value, and since the machines are largely automatic, only a short period of training will be required.
The position of foreman of a department is worth striving for, and the qualities which will help a man to overcome handicaps will also help him to get a foreman’s position, in which he will be largely independent of physical disabilities.
PLAN No. 923. MACHINISTS AND MACHINE OPERATORS
Previous training and experience in some of these metal-working employments will greatly help you if you elect to take up some related line of work. With a little training to overcome your handicap, you may be able to resume your old employment or one in which your previous training and experience will count.
Machines Operated
Machinists work with the following machines:
Metal turning.—Speed lathes; screw-cutting lathes; engine lathes; turret lathes; shaft and wheel lathes; automatic lathes.