§ 11. Mr. Nellistasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many youngsters leaving the youth training programme go on to full-time employment.
§ Dr. BoysonSince the youth training programme began in 1982, 9,552 — 53.3 per cent. — of the young people who have left the programme went directly into employment and 393 — 2 per cent. — returned to full-time education. The figures for the last six months were 2,768–55.8 per cent. and 164–3 per cent. Information is collected only with regard to trainees' immediate destinations on leaving the programme, so those who experienced any delay in entering full-time employment are not included in the employment figures.
§ Mr. NellistIs that answer not a warning to young school leavers in Northern Ireland that the Government's youth training programme there has about the same success rate as the programme in the rest of Britain and offers no real future for young people? Why does the Minister not propose a real training programme, on trade union rates of pay, with an allowance of at least £55, and a guarantee of a job at the end? Does the Minister accept that the fall by a third in manufacturing employment under the present Government in the past six years, to a level that is half the real rate of unemployment in Northern Ireland, shows that the Government do not care for the youth of Northern Ireland and cannot offer them a future?
§ Dr. BoysonOver 16,000 young people and adults are in training in Northern Ireland, out of a population of 1.5 million. That shows how concerned the Government are about the matter. Three out of five of those who join the youth training programme either obtain employment 1341 immediately afterwards or embark on higher education. That shows that the programme is a great advantage to those who take part in it.