HC Deb 29 April 1971 vol 816 cc699-700
21. Mr. Hardy

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of persons retrained in the West Riding of Yorkshire during 1970, and the number of persons retrained in the county since June, 1970, who are currently unemployed.

Mr. Bryan

702 completed courses at Government Training Centres during 1970 and 504 were in training at the end of the year. 39 who completed training since June, 1970 have not yet been placed in employment in their training trades. Information about the numbers retrained by employers is not available.

Mr. Hardy

Is the Minister aware that, despite the need for an expansion in retraining in view of the unemployment figures, many individuals are extremely reluctant to apply for retraining because they fear that they will not be able to get a job when their retraining is completed?

Mr. Bryan

I am well aware of this problem, because the attendances which we are achieving are less satisfactory in some areas of unemployment than in others. This is very much in our minds.