HC Deb 25 February 1959 vol 600 cc1089-90
1. Miss Burton

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement upon the steps taken to encourage employers to provide training schemes for boys and girls, as distinct from normal apprenticeship arrangements.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and National Service (Mr. Richard Wood)

The Carr Committee recommended that for all jobs containing an element of skill, there should be a period of systematic training, and that training for non-apprentices should be developed and extended, particularly by those industries that employ a high proportion of semi-skilled workers. The need to develop training facilities for young people is a question to which the Industrial Training Council is giving attention.

Miss Burton

While thanking the Parliamentary Secretary for that satisfactory Answer, may I ask him whether he thinks more attention could be paid to our young people in dead-end jobs? Does he think it possible, either factory by factory or trade by trade, for both sides of industry to see what can be done so that these youngsters have a chance of progress?

Mr. Wood

I have already stated the view of the Carr Committee, with which I entirely agree. I think that in a great range of jobs there is opportunity for training, and I hope that advantage will be taken of it.

44. Mr. Albu

asked the Minister of Labour what provisions he is making for the industrial training of young people unable to obtain apprenticeships owing to the state of trade.

Mr. Wood

The industrial training of young people is the responsibility of the individual industry concerned. I hope that the exercise of this responsibility will be based on a considered assessment of future needs. If the intake of apprentices is restricted, there will be difficulty in meeting the requirements of industry for skilled workers as the economy expands.

Mr. Albu

Apart altogether from the difficulty of obtaining apprenticeships, to which reference has been made already this afternoon, is the hon. Gentleman aware that many small and medium-sized firms give quite inadequate training for apprentices in modern conditions and use their apprentices as cheap labour? Would he ask his right hon. Friend to consult the Minister of Education about having pre-apprenticeship training years in technical colleges?

Mr. Wood

My right hon. Friend, of course, is naturally in touch with the Minister of Education. In fact, my right hon. Friend has felt for some time that he would like to see an increasing use made of pre-apprenticeship courses. As for the other matters which the hon. Member has mentioned, I will certainly see that there is consultation with the Minister of Education.