§ 20. Mr. G. Johnson Smithasked the Minister of Labour what steps he is taking to study the effects of automation on the level and pattern of employment.
§ 29. Mr. Bourne-Artonasked the Minister of Labour what progress has been made by the research unit set up within his Department to study future manpower needs.
§ Mr. GodberWork on the inquiry into manpower requirements in the metal manufacturing and metal using industries which was announced by my predecessor on 22nd July is well advanced. The degree of co-operation obtained from employers has been excellent and I am grateful to the firms concerned. The Unit will shortly be carrying out a similar inquiry into the effects of the introduction of computers on office work. Other matters which are being studied are, first, the manpower situation in the construction industries with a view to estimating their future needs for skilled labour, and secondly, the distribution of manpower between industries and occupations in the light of past trends and probable future developments, including the effects of automation and other technological change.
§ Mr. Johnson SmithWhile thanking the Minister for that interesting reply, may I ask him whether he agrees that this is a very small research unit in some respects? Does he not think that similar work ought to be undertaken by private industry and, in particular, by the universities? I know of only one university which is pursuing this long-range research.
§ Mr. GodberThis was started as a small unit, but we are building it up by degrees. We started with two people and we now have fourteen fully employed, as well as a large number connected with it. A certain amount is being done by universities under our sponsorship, but I should certainly welcome further work at other universities in this very important field.
§ Mr. Bourne-ArtonHelpful though that answer is, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he is satisfied that the work of this unit has gone far enough or fast enough? Frankly, I am not.
§ Mr. GodberIt was set up only in the spring of this year and I want to see it pressed ahead. But it is a very big field, and I do not think that it would be right to expect any results from it before some time in the early part of next year.
§ Mr. PrenticeDoes the Minister agree that one of the tasks which faces him in relation to industrial training is convincing people that training and retraining schemes are relevant to the needs of industry in the years ahead? In the various parts of the country where he establishes Government training centres, he will have to find convincing answers to questions which will be asked about that. Does he consider that a unit of the size which he mentioned will do the job on the scale which he requires?
§ Mr. GodberI accept the first part of the hon. Member's question as being exactly the problem. But we are building up the unit. It is a very complicated subject, and it is not purely a matter of the size of the unit and the number of people engaged, but also their quality, which affects the position.