§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of building apprentices in training at the latest available date compared with the number 10 years ago; and what proposals he has for increasing the number.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that 113,900 apprentices were in training in the construction industry in September 1964 compared with 79,300 in October 1973, the latest date for which currently comparable statistics are available. Recruitment in that year was affected by the raising of the school-leaving age. The Construction Industry Training Board is expected to announce within the next few days the special measures it is taking to increase the number of young persons recruited to the industry this summer for first year off-the-job initial training.