HC Deb 29 February 1940 vol 357 cc2217-8
3. Mr. Emery

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that, in connection with the scheme for training unemployed as skilled workers, volunteers from Lancashire will have to travel to Yorkshire or the Midlands; and whether, in view of the large number of unemployed in Lancashire, he will consider increasing the scope of the Salford Training Centre and include it in the general scheme?

18. Mr. Roland Robinson

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in connection with the plan to train and find work for some 40,000 men as skilled craftsmen in the arms and engineering industries, he can make arrangements to ensure that at least one of the new training centres is situated in Lancashire and thus avoid the necessity of Lancashire volunteers being obliged to go to Leeds or the Midlands for their training?

The Minister of Labour (Mr. Ernest Brown)

I have already increased the number of training places at the Manchester-Salford Training Centre from 200–350, and I have the question of further expansions of training in Lancashire under urgent consideration.

20. Sir Joseph Leech

asked the Minister of Labour whether, as it will help to prevent prices rising, he will begin to train the majority of the 40,000 unskilled unemployed persons to increase production, as only a minor proportion of the unskilled unemployed is as yet organised for training?

Mr. Brown

There are already many thousands of unskilled unemployed persons under training at the Government Training Centres, and I hope to increase the numbers substantially in the near future.

Miss Wilkinson

In view of the statement that more than 3,000,000 people are likely to be wanted for war work in industry, does the Minister consider that the training of only 40,000 is sufficient?

Mr. Brown

The hon. Lady will understand that it has always been the responsibility of industry to do the training for industry, and the House will understand that this particular service was started not as an industrial effort but as a social effort, in order to give those who had no skill an opportunity to acquire skill which would fit them for a new occupation. Now we are able to extend that experiment, which was started for social purposes, to assist in the conduct of the war.

21. Sir J. Leech

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is seeking the active help of trade union leaders to enable him to use his equipment and matured plans for increasing munitions by recruiting workers now, especially female workers, in order to start additional labour at once to receive the minimum training of six months and thereby avoid having to make hurried additions of semi-skilled labour at the last moment?

Mr. E. Brown

I have had conferences with the representatives of the trade unions mainly concerned in the munitions industries, at which the question of training has been raised. I hope to have further meetings with them within the next few days. The large majority of the additional workers to be recruited for the munitions industries will not require a minimum period of six months' training, but will be employed on repetition processes for which a much shorter period of training will be sufficient.