12 October 1983 Women on the increase in the wool industry

Women are moving into wool; not just high fashion, but into wool stores, shearing sheds and everywhere else wool is handled.

Reflecting this is the increasing number of women taking the Certificate in Wool course at Lincoln College .

Twenty years ago a woman taking the course was seen as being unusual, but in the last few years more have been spending 12 weeks of the year at the college learning about handling wool .

In this year's course women gained more than up only a quarter of the student roll.

Senior tutor in wool Mr Bruce Tinnock said more women were taking the course because they were being accepted more in wool stores and in shearing sheds,

"There has been this upsurge in women taking the course in the last four or five years, as more people in the wool industry realise women can do the work just as well as men," he said.

"Until a few years ago women in wool stores helped classers and kept the floor tidy; now women are going on from the certificate to be trainee wool classers,"

Mr Tinnock said that women were now being accepted in contract shearing gangs in the South Island.

Traditionally there had always been women in some gangs in the North Island, but not in the South Island.

Now that women are accepted throughout the New Zealand wool industry, Mr Tinnock sees the number of women wool certificate students continuing to rise.

When the course started almost 40 years ago there were no women students, and most of the students were former servicemen training to establish themselves in civilian life.

The first course was held in 1944, and there was a second course the same year next year there were two more courses.

Since then each year there has been one course, starting towards the end of May and with final examinations in the middle of August.

Intention of the course is to give concentrated training in wool handling and classification.

Essentially, the course is for trainee wool classers, shed hands, sheep farmers and others in the wool industry.

The Head of the wool science Department at College, Dr Barry Wilkinson, emphasises the importance of the certificate in
wool course to the wool industry.

"There is considerable economic advantage in preparing wool for sale in making the most of the clip," he said.

"For this reason the course is held in high regard by farmers and woolbroking firms, who regularly send staff to the college for training."

Two-thirds of the time on the 12-weeks course is taken up with practical work, as woolclassing is a practical skill.

The time is spent studying and practising wool classification and methods of handling wool, both on-farm and in woolbrokers stores.

Lectures on wool growth, the nature of fleece and wool fibre, wool processing and use, and wool production, and on sheep husbandry take up the rest of the time.

Students take written examinations on wool science, wool production and wool classification, and there are also some practical tests and examinations.

Students who successfully complete the wool certificate course can go on to study for a Diploma in Wool Technology, but entry requirements for that course are higher.

Those wanting to take the wool certificate course must be at least 18 years old, unless they have had six months or more experience in a wool store or elsewhere in the wool industry.

Since 1944 more than 1300 students have taken the course, with most coming from Canterbury and other parts of the South Island.

Fifteen per cent of the students have come from the North Island, and almost three per cent from overseas.

Most of the overseas students have come from the United Kingdom, with Australians close behind.

Others have come from Ireland, France, the United States, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Japan, India, Kenya and South Africa.

Some students who have taken the course have been as young as 17, while others have been in their late twenties or older average age is 22.6 years.

The educational level of the students has risen over the years, with more having achieved School Certificate and higher
qualifications in recent times.

Most of those taking the course over the years have come from working in wool stores, or intending to work in wool stores.

Others have come from woollen mills, wool buying, research and advisory organisations, merchants and stock agents.

Some students are sponsored by the firms they work for, but others pay their way through the course.

More than one-third of the students have been sponsored, but in the last few years fewer companies have been sponsoring students.

On the course for 1983, completed only a few weeks ago, less one quarter of the students were sponsored; the rest paid
their own way.