Apprenticeships (Hansard, 3 December 1958)

§ 9. Mr. Moss
asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that the number of applicants for apprenticeship far outnumbers the number of apprenticeships available; and what steps he is taking to improve the position.

§ Mr. Wood
I am aware that there is, in general, competition among young people for apprenticeships. The Industrial Training Council is in touch with industries regarding their future requirements for trained workpeople in the light of the increased numbers of school leavers becoming available. Youth employment committees throughout the country are bringing to the attention of local industry the need to train more apprentices.

§ Mr. Moss
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I have it on good authority that in the City of Coventry an engineering firm offered 20 apprenticeships and interviewed 150 suitable school leavers, themselves selected from a far greater number? Further, is he aware that in the City of Cardiff a suggestion has been made to set up an apprentice- 1162 ship training centre under the youth employment committee there because a serious view is taken of the grave situation that is coming upon the country and particularly upon certain localities?

§ Mr. Wood
I am personally examining that second suggestion. In reply to the first part of the question, I am aware that figures like that may be found in various parts of the country. That is why I am so anxious that the recommendations of the Report "Training for Skill" should be put into practice as quickly as possible and that employers generally should widen the opportunities for training in industry.

§ Mr. Fletcher-Cooke
If these measures that my hon. Friend has in mind do not produce the desired result, will he consider something more drastic in the way of a commission of inquiry or something on similar lines to consider the whole matter of opportunities for apprenticeship? This will be one of the serious defects for the future unless it is tackled radically fairly soon.

§ Mr. Wood
I certainly take as serious a view as my hon. and learned Friend of the need. At the moment, however, this is primarily a matter for the Industrial Training Council, which has started work and is investigating what exactly is the position in industry.

§ 10. Mr. Moss
asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that pupils who are advised to stay on at school to obtain a qualification are frequently over the age for entry into apprenticeships when they leave school; and what steps he will take to remedy this situation.

§ Mr. Wood
The Carr Committee recommended that young people who stay on longer at school should be allowed to enter apprenticeship at a later age. This recommendation has been brought to the attention of the employers' and workers' organisations in each industry.

§ Mr. Moss
What progress has been made? Headmasters have complained to me that they are in a quandary. What advice would the Parliamentary Secretary give to headmasters who are torn between the desire to advise young people to stay on at school and the knowledge that, if they do stay on, they may be too late to enter an apprenticeship?

§ Mr. Wood
As the hon. Member knows, a number of apprenticeship schemes have provision for boys who have continued their education and stayed on at school to start their apprenticeship at a later age, but it is also true that some of these provisions are not always implemented. I am anxious that they should be. What is happening at the moment is that the Industrial Training Council has asked different industries for information and very shortly will be asking different industries what action they have taken on the recommendations of the Carr Report, which included what the hon. Member has mentioned.

Mr. Lee
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that whilst on both sides we are very concerned about this matter and want to see every facility for more apprenticeships, the situation is bound to be bedevilled by the constantly increasing rise in the unemployment of skilled men? Therefore, one of the best ways to get more apprenticeships is to ensure that there are more jobs for adults at the same time.

§ Mr. Wood
Both the employment and the training of young people depend to a very large extent, as the hon. Member would agree, on the general employment situation much more than on the temporary increase of school leavers in the "bulge". Therefore, our objective is, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced, to widen employment opportunities generally.