HC Deb 08 May 1990 vol 172 cc3-4
2. Mr. Stevens

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what effect he expects the introduction of training credits to have on young people seeking further education and training after they leave school.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science (Mr. Robert Jackson)

By motivating young people to seek training and employers to provide it, training credits have the potential to increase radically the number of young people in jobs who receive worthwhile education and training. That is why the Government have announced their intention to run pilot schemes from next April.

Mr. Stevens

I welcome job training credits which will introduce additional flexibility to bring about specific training in the skills that individuals will need, but what role will the education service have in that new scheme?

Mr. Jackson

I believe that the education service will have an important role to play in the new scheme, which will present a considerable opportunity for the service to expand its provision of part-time education and training of young people. It will continue to be the major provider of part-time training and education and to play an essential role in the operation of the credit scheme. In considering applications for pilot schemes, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be careful to identify the local education authorities that have been most closely involved. We have received no fewer than 33 bids for the 10 pilot schemes that we shall be operating, which shows the extent of their popularity.

Mr. Leighton

The principle of training credits has been widely welcomed, but some youngsters should also be encouraged to undergo further education, including that for vocational careers. As one does not want students to make educational decisions mainly on financial grounds, is there not an equally strong case for offering a financial incentive to remain at school, by making training credits available to young people who decide to continue into further education?

Mr. Jackson

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, and for the remarks that he made in response to the original statement by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment, when the hon. Gentleman was a very welcome voice from the Opposition Benches. The implications of the part-time training credit scheme for those in full-time education will have to be examined. However, we have no reason to believe that the scheme will constitute a disincentive to remain at school or to enter a further education college full time. However, we shall monitor that aspect in the context of the pilot schemes.

Mr. Worthington

If the Minister believes that pupils will be motivated by the introduction of training credits, does he also believe that they will be demotivated by the withdrawal of funds by the Department of Employment from compacts and training and vocational employment initiatives that will shortly be announced? Does the Minister agree that students will be put off entering further education and training by the renegotiation of the youth training scheme and the cutting of Department of Employment money from that area?

Mr. Jackson

The hon. Gentleman should address those questions to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. The training credit pilot schemes involve expenditure of an extra £12 million in 1991–92 and £25 million in 1992–93, which is a considerable investment. If the schemes are shown to have worked, I hope that we shall see further growth under that heading.