HC Deb 22 February 1961 vol 635 cc500-1
34. Mr. Lee

asked the Minister of Labour what proportion of those leaving school during the past three years took out apprenticeships; and in which industries these were.

Mr. Hare

In 1957, 36.6 per cent of boys and 7 per cent. of girls; in 1958, 34.4 per cent. of boys and 6.9 per cent. of girls; and in 1959, 33.6 per cent. of boys and 7.4 per cent. of girls. The figures for 1960 are not yet available. As the answer to the second part of the Question consists of a table of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. Lee

Is it not clear that more than two-thirds of the school leavers are not taking up apprenticeships, that following this and previous replies it becomes abundantly clear that the Government's conception based on the Carr Report has dismally failed and that it is not sufficient merely to tell my hon. Friend the Member for Morpeth (Mr. Owen) that a large number of school leavers are working when we are fairly sure from these latest figures that most of them are going into blind-alley jobs? Is not the "bulge" a once-for-all opportunity which, if we miss it, will result in a dearth of skilled people for a long period ahead?

TABLE SHOWING INDUSTRIES IN WHICH BOYS AND GIRLS STARTED WORK AS APPRENTICES OR LEARNERS
— Boys Girls
1957 1958 1959 1957 1958 1959
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing … 1,366 1,373 1,473 138 125 119
Mining and Quarrying … 1,976 1,839 1,215 10 12 6
Food, Drink and Tobacco … 1,303 1,532 1,269 58 609 392
Chemicals, and allied industries … 1,163 1,136 1,047 100 113 98
Metal Manufacture … 2,934 2,401 3,327 25 31 33
Engineering, Shipbuilding and Electrical Goods … 25,631 23,692 20,577 362 274 251
Vehicles, including motor repairers and garages … 12,434 13,146 13,283 78 66 109
Metal goods not elsewhere specified … 3,155 2,846 3,746 39 34 46
Textiles … 1,083 958 1,165 727 637 580
Leather, Leather Goods and Fur … 176 155 213 96 155 99
Clothing and Footwear … 1,244 1,153 1,038 3,123 2,914 3,108
Bricks, Pottery, Glass, Cement, etc … 862 790 840 16 16 22
Timber, Furniture, etc … 2,984 2,899 3,360 129 95 117
Paper, Printing and Publishing … 3,194 3,101 3,176 705 787 666
Other Manufacturing Industries … 498 434 567 71 54 50
Construction … 18,783 18,308 21,966 54 74 80
Gas, Electricity and Water … 1,452 1,419 1,565 11 14 22
Transport and Communication … 2,622 2,167 2,210 159 140 232
Distributive Trades … 5,608 6,246 7,050 1,627 1,585 2,220
Insurance, Banking and Finance … 198 202 478 72 66 84
Professional and Scientific Services … 1,116 1,239 1,634 1,524 1,575 1,830
Miscellaneous Services … 2,095 2,519 3,548 7,039 1,778 10,268
Public Administration … 3,305 3,657 3,954 178 198 199
TOTALS … 95,184 93,212 98,701 16,851 17,352 20,631