federally affected areas, education of military dependents, and grants to States for vocational education. The report does describe programs administered by the Federal Government to help train persons who, like members of the merchant marine, work essentially in private enterprise. These activities include the extension work of the Department of Agriculture, the national apprenticeship program of the Department of Labor, and the mine safety training program of the Bureau of Mines. They include also certain training activities of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Public Health Service's teaching grants and traineeships, the Office of Education's support of land-grant colleges, and the education program of the National Science Foundation. Although the activities discussed here do not constitute the complete list of all Federal training programs for nongovernmental occupational groups, they represent a selection of programs contributing much to the skills and knowledge of the Nation's working force. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EXTENSION WORK The Department of Agriculture through at least eight constituent units conducts programs aimed toward educating farmers and others concerned with agricultural enterprises. These units, currently spending about $45 million a year on their training or "extension" activities, include the Federal Extension Service, the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Soil Conservation Service, the Agricultural Research Service, the Farmer Cooperative Service, the Forest Service, the Commodity Stabiliation Service, and the Office of Information. Federal Extension Service The Federal Extension Service accounts for the bulk of the expenditures— more than $43 million in 1955. Although this Service does not take its program directly to the farmer and his family, it supports and guides the work of State and local extension agencies. It distributes scientific information and encourages improved methods of agriculture and home economics through land-grant colleges, county agricultural agents, home demonstration agents, and 4-H clubs. The Extension Service's cooperative extension program provides education and advice on a great variety of agricultural and related subjects. Exhibit A, the 1954 annual report of the Pennsylvania State University Extension Service, describes some of the many ways in which federally aided extension work assists farmers in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania service's activities, ranging from soil tests to correspondence courses in home economics, serve the individual needs of farmers in that State just as other States' services are designed to meet the special requirements of those States. Although State and local cooperative extension workers do a great deal of their work through tours, meetings, and other face-to-face contacts, they also distribute some information through pamphlets, newspapers, radio, TV, and farm magazines. Exhibits B and C contain selected State extension service pamphlets on livestock raising and home economics, two subjects broadly representative of those taught by extension workers. Agricultural Marketing Service The Agricultural Marketing Service conducts an educational program on various aspects of the standardization, grading, and marketing of agricultural products. This program includes demonstrations for farmers and agricultural students on the nature and value of official grades and standards. It also includes instruction on proper methods of marketing, processing, and distributing agricultural products. To illustrate the extent of the educational work done by the Agricultural Marketing Service, its Fruit and Vegetable Division in fiscal year 1955 demonstrated grades and inspection for fresh products alone before 212 growers' meetings and 347 shipper and processor meetings, with a combined attendance of 37,000 individuals. The same Division participated in 56 grading demonstrations of processed products, before a total of about 2,770 undergraduate and 1 U. S. Congress: House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Labor; Federal activity in the field of education; hearings, September 15-December 6, 1954; Washington, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1955, pp. 494-495. Letter from Luke M. Schruben, Assistant Administrator, Federal Extension Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, September 16, 1955, with attachments. Memorandum from Arthur E. Browne, Assistant to the Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, September 14, 1955, with attachments. graduate students, members of State and National dietetic associations, hospital and restaurant procurement officials, civic leaders, and processors. As part of its program to assist growers and processors in improving their marketing practices, the Agricultural Marketing Service has prepared a variety of circulars or bulletins on the handling of particular commodities. Exhibit D contains selected pamphlets on how to market fresh fruits and vegetables, including apples, cabbages, peaches, strawberries, and tomatoes. Soil Conservation Service The Soil Conservation Service cooperates with Federal and State Extension Services in providing information and advice on the protection and improvement of soil. Besides offering some technical assistance itself, the Service helps the extension agencies in developing those aspects of their programs relating to sou use. Exhibit E, A Guide for Designing Sprinkler Irrigation Systems in Indians, was prepared jointly by the Purdue University Agricultural Extension Service and representatves of the Soil Conservation Service. Other Educational activities of other Department of Agriculture units may be de scribed briefly as follows: The Agricultural Research Service prepares various educational publications and motion pictures besides conducting special eduz tional campaigns on such problems as the prevention and control of brucellosis (a livestock disease causing undulent fever among humans). The Farmer Cooperative Service, through education publications and partic pating in meetings of interested groups, provides information and advice on the organization and operation of cooperatives. The Forest Service promotes better forest management through publications educational motion pictures, preparation of materials for schools, and work with civic organizations; it also conducts the cooperative forest fire preventi campaign. The Commodity Stabilization Service holds farm storage demonstrations to improve the quality of grain and other commodities held on the farm as collatera for price-support loans. The Office of Information prepares and distributes miscellaneous publications exhibits, and educational motion pictures on agricultural subjects. This summary of the educational activities of the Department of Agriculte has not included programs contributing indirectly to the education and training of farmers. For example, certain activites of the Rural Electrification Adm. istration and of federally aided agricultural experiment stations have the effet of teaching better methods of farm work. NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM 2 Since 1937 the Department of Labor has administered a national apprenti ship program to promote the establishment of more adequate apprenticeship fac ities in various trades throughout the Nation. This includes helping to form lating standards of apprenticeship. It also includes encouraging labor and management to adopt apprenticeship provisions conforming with these standards The program is carried out by the Bureau of Apprenticeship, under the general policy guidance of the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship. The Bureau was known at first as the Apprenticeship-Training Service. The Federal Committe appointed by the Secretary of Labor, consists of representatives of empiovers labor, and interested Government agencies. Since 1938 there has also been General Committee on Apprenticeship for the Construction Industry to se the Bureau of Apprenticeship in establishing apprentice training programs in the building trades. That the national program has borne fruit is indicated by the fact that. every major industry in the United States employs apprentices, with trait provided in some 300 skilled occupations under 90 different trade classificat Management and labor have joined together in more than 7,000 local appre ship committees, not to mention various national trade committees estaba shed : help formulate national apprenticeship standards in particular trades. 2 U. S. Congress; House of Representatives; Committee on Education and Labor, Fun activity in the field of education, op. cit., p. 498. U. S. Department of Labor; Bureau of Apprenticeship; the national apprentices) ; 17 gram, Washington, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1953. Although Federal expenditures for the apprenticeship program have declined somewhat over the past few years, the Bureau of Apprenticeship still has an annual budget of about $3 million for the promotion of apprenticeship and other training on the job. To supplement the personal assistance provided by its field staff to interested management and labor groups, the Bureau of Apprenticeship has prepared a variety of manuals, pamphlets, and articles on apprenticeship problems. Exhibit F comprises two general guidebooks distributed by the Bureau: Setting Up an Apprenticeship Program and Your Skill Improvement Program. The articles presented at exhibit G, Diesinker Apprenticeship Takes 8 Years in Cleveland and Industry Training Pattern Set by Lockheed, describe two apprenticeship schemes established with the assistance of the Bureau of Apprenticeship. The Bureau of Mines conducts several safety training courses for persons employed in the mineral industries. These courses are held by Bureau staff members throughout the United States and Alaska, usually on or near the premises of mines, mills, and mineral processing plants. The first course given by the Bureau was its basic course of first aid to the injured, established soon after the Bureau of Mines was created in 1910. Revised and brought up to date from time to time, this course has now been completed by a total of more than 1.8 million persons. The course in mine-rescue and recovery methods is another course established in the early days of the Bureau. Designed primarily for rescuing persons trapped in mine disasters, this course has been given since its inception to more than 105,000 persons. Although the course in coal mine accident prevention was not organized until later, it has been completed by about 128,000 persons since July 1939. Education work in mine safety expanded greatly after 1941, when Public Law 49 made available special funds and personnel for the program. The following table lists the principal safety training courses currently offered by the Bureau of Mines, together with the number of persons who completed the courses during fiscal year 1955: 566 Metal mine accident prevention (mainly supervisors). 537 Exhibits H and J may give an idea of the type of publication used by the Bureau of Mines in conducting its safety training courses. Exhibit H, First Aid, a Bureau of Mines Instruction Manual, is used in the course on first aid to the injured. Exhibit I contains a set of miners' circulars and also an instruction manual used in the coal mine accident prevention course. The booklets included in exhibit J, Procedure in Sealing and Unsealing Mine Fires and in Recovery Operations Following Mine Explosions and self-contained Oxygen Breathing Apparatus, are used in the course in mine rescue and recovery methods. In addition to conducting safety training courses, the Bureau of Mines presents formal demonstrations illustrating the hazards of explosive gases, coal dust, and static electricity. These demonstrations are witnessed by thousands of persons each year. Bureau safety education personnel also officiate at first aid and mine rescue contests; conduct safety meetings, and present exhibits and safety films at numerous places throughout the United States. 3 Letter from James Westfield, Assistant Director, Health and Safety, Bureau of Mines, September 15, 1955; Quattlebaum, Charles A. Federal educational activities and educational issues before Congress. Washington, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1952 (82d Cong., 2d sess., H. Doc. No. 423). ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION EDUCATION ACTIVITIES* The Atomic Energy Commission attempts in various ways to relieve the shortage of trained personnel for atomic energy development. Among the means used by the Commission to provide education are graduate fellowships, reactor training schools, training in the use of isotopes, on-the-job training, and university research contracts. Graduate fellowships To train the specialists needed in the Nation's atomic energy program, the Atomic Energy Commission offers 55 graduate fellowships for 1 year of study in the specialized health fields of radiological physics, industrial hygiene, and industrial medicine, as they relate to the atomic energy industry. In the field of radiological physics, selected college graduates with degrees in basic science or engineering receive training on health problems associated with handling radioactive material and with the release of nuclear energy. The fel lowships, administered on behalf of the Commission by the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, provide for 9 months of graduate study at a university, to gether with 3 months of field training at an AEC laboratory. The Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies also administers the fellowship program in industrial hygiene for qualified graduates in the fields of chemistry, physics, or engineering. These fellowships provide for 1 year of academic training. The fellowship program in industrial medicine offers to selected physicians advanced training and on-the-job experience on industrial medicine, with particular reference to atomic energy activities. Following 1 year of study at a university, the trainees receive a second year of training at a Commission or AEC contractor installation. The program is administered by the atomic energy project at the University of Rochester, Rochester, N. Y. Reactor training schools The Commission operates two reactor training schools to train not only Government employees but also men from industry and recent college graduates These schools are the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology and the Argonne School of Nuclear Science and Engineering. The Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology, established in 1950, offers a 1-year graduate course at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Of the 85 st dents graduated from the 1954-55 class, more than half (52) will returu te industrial organizations. Beginning with the 1955-56 session, the school wil accommodate even more scientists and engineers from industry. However, this year the Government also will start charging tuition ($2,500) for industrysponsored students. The Argonne School of Nuclear Science and Engineering was opened in March 1955 to give a 7-month course on unclassified fields of nuclear reactor technology. Although the first class of 39 students consisted primarily of engineers and scientists from foreign countries, 9 of the students were from the United States. A second course with a similar enrollment is planned to start in the late fall, and a third course, next March. Present plans call for expansion of the school to a capacity of 120 students. Training in the use of radioisotopes Since 1948 the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies under an AEC contra has offered basic and advanced courses in radioisotopes techniques. These courses teach the use of radioisotopes for research and for the problems of industry Each year about 200 people are trained in a basic course of 4 weeks' durat and 250 individuals receive advanced training in advanced courses of 1 or 2 weeks' duration. On-the-job training To broaden the opportunities for training of engineers in nuclear technol the Commission has established a program of on-the-job training. Under this plan, experienced engineers from industry or other Government agencies 27′′* assigned to a Commission laboratory, usually for a period of 1 year. While at the laboratory, the engineers serve as active Commission employees working s U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, 15th semiannual report, January 1954; 18th annual report, July 1955. U. S. Congress, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Devel growth, and state of the atomic energy industry. Hearings, January 31-February 4, Te pt. 1 of 3 parts, pp. 207-217. a particular design, development, or operating problem. At the completion of their assignments, they return to their former employers. Of all the engineers trained under the program up to February 1955, about 165 came from industrial concerns. Research contracts Although Commission support of atomic energy research at universities and other research institutions does not provide directly for training, the research contracts do improve educational opportunities at the institutions concerned. At the very least they provide facilities and supplies enabling the university to expand and improve its program of graduate instruction. Frequently they furnish also both stipends and thesis subjects for individual graduate students. Early in 1955, for example, the Commission had in the physical sciences about 300 research contracts with 90 universities. These contracts in turn gave employment to an estimated 1,600 graduate students in the fields of chemistry, chemical enginering, physics, and metallurgy, of whom about 500 would receive their Ph. D.'s or master's degrees this year. At this rate, the Commission was supporting indirectly about 30 percent of all graduate students receiving advanced degrees each year in the physical sciences. In addition to the contracts in the physical sciences, the Commission had about 389 contracts at universities and other research institutions in the life sciences, including medicine, biophysics, biology, and agriculture. Under these contracts about 320 graduate students received full-time or part-time employment.. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE TRAINING GRANTS 5 The Public Health Service through its National Institutes of Health provides support for training in medical and related fields which might otherwise be neglected. In addition to financing extensive research in its own facilities and in other institutions, the Institutes award training grants to both indivduals and teaching institutions. Although research expenditures tend to promote training, this report will discuss only the training grants, which amounted to more than $2.2 million in fiscal year 1953. Training support for individuals To increase the number of persons well qualified in matters pertaining to health, four of the National Institutes award traineeships recommended on a competitive basis by Public Health Service review boards and paid directly by a monthly Federal check to the successful candidate. These Institutes include the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart Institute, the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, and the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness. The traineeships take two main forms: regular and special. Regular traineeships are awarded to qualified persons having a doctoral degree in health fields, including related biological and behavioral sciences. Physicians must also have completed an approved internship. Stipends equal $3,400 for the first year and $3,700 for the second year, plus allowances for dependents. Special traineeships are awarded to qualified applicants who either possess unusual competence for training or require specialized training for a specific problem. The stipend in such cases varies with the particular needs of the applicant. Trainees may study at any qualified institution in the United States. They may attend an institution outside the United States only when satisfactory justification is provided that the type or quality of training is particularly indicated in the applicant's case. Training grants to institutions Five of the National Institutes provide training grants to teaching institutions to help support training at the undergraduate level or at the graduate level, or both. Undergraduate training grants are awarded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart Institute, and the National Institute of Mental Health. The purposes of these grants are to establish, expand, improve, or continue instruction relating to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease s U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Public Health Service. National Institutes of Health. Grant and award programs of the National Institutes of Health, February 1955 annual report of Department, 1953. 69557-566 |