§ 4. Sir Harold Webbeasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour whether he will, in consultation with the President of the Board of Education, arrange for the much fuller use of polytechnics and other educational institutions having suitable equipment for the training of engineering operatives in the more highly skilled branches of their trades; and whether he will take steps to see that the men so trained shall not at the conclusion of their training be enticed away from the employers for whom they are working?
§ Mr. AsshetonThe Board of Education recently issued a Circular, of which I am sending a copy to my hon. Friend, calling the attention of local education authorities to the importance of training for war-time industry and to the fact that technical institutions are particularly well adapted to provide courses of a higher grade in engineering and related subjects. This Circular was prepared in consultation with the Ministry of Labour and National Service and my Department will co-operate closely with the Board in ensuring that the fullest and best use is made of the institutions in war-time. As regards the second part of the Question, my right hon. Friend is giving urgent consideration to ways and means securing the distribution of skilled engineering labour to the best possible advantage.