§ 14. Mr. Colin Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many young people he is presently training under the auspicies of the youth training scheme.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement (Mr. John Lee)At the present time there are 212 trainees serving in the armed services youth training scheme and a further 120 trainees serving in mode 757 A and mode B civilian industrial schemes in defence establishments in the United Kingdom. In addition, there are a further 500 trainees in the "special" scheme in BAOR for the dependents of United Kingdom personnel serving in Germany.
A further 600–700 places in industrial schemes should become available to offer to school leavers by Easter 1984 and, in view of the recent agreement by the Council of Civil Service Unions to non-industrial schemes, we hope to expand our numbers further during 1984 with training places in offices, computer centres and so on.
§ Mr. ShepherdDoes my hon. Friend agree that the present take-up of the uniformed services youth training scheme is very much less than that for which initial allowance was made? Bearing in mind the highly enthusiastic response of participants and trainers within existing schemes, especially in the Royal Air Force at Hereford, will the right hon. Gentleman take further steps to ensure that young people are aware of this first-class opportunity to acquire a trade, participate in a fine service and possibly start a magnificent career?
§ Mr. LeeMy hon. Friend is quite correct in saying that the scheme nationally has not been taken up as substantially as we would have wished, although it has been a great success at RAF Hereford. We intend to continue making leaflets available in careers offices and jobcentres. Advertising has been tried but, regrettably, it has not been especially successful. We hope that word-of-mouth recommendations from those who have been on the schemes will increasingly encourage others to participate.