§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what study he has made of the paper entitled Supply of Computer People, prepared by the Central London Fabian Society Science and Technology Circle and sent to him by the hon. Member for West Lothian; and what action he will take to increase the number of well-trained computer programmers.
§ Mr. CroslandI am grateful to my hon. Friend for sending me this paper, which I have read with great interest. There is, as the paper says, an urgent need to plan for the development of our computer manpower, and as I have informed the House, an interdepartmental working group was set up in 1965 to consider what could be done in the educational system to improve the supply of trained computer personnel, in the light of foreseeable demand.
This working group, in consultation with the computer industry and the British Computer Society, has surveyed manpower resources and requirements and training facilities in universities and further education establishments and has made constructive proposals. Its report, which will be published at the end of this month, should provide a valuable basis for progress by education and industry.
As regards programmers, technical colleges should in general be able to meet demands for broader educational courses to supplement the training provided by manufacturers. The City and Guilds of London Institute course 319 for intending programmers, which was introduced in technical colleges in September, 1964, is now offered by about 50 colleges in the United Kingdom, and a new course 320 for more advanced programmers became 210W available last September. I am considering in the light of the report whether local education authorities should be invited to take any further measures.