§ Mr. Stanbrookasked the Secretary of State for Employment what further steps he is taking to improve employment prospects for school leavers in the southeast London area.
§ Mr. GoldingA wide range of special measures for assisting unemployed young people are being deployed in south-east London. Forty-five projects have been approved under the job creation scheme, providing 747 jobs, of which more than546W half have been filled by young people. Twenty-seven schemes have been approved under the work experience programme, which will, in all, provide 62 places, of which nine have already been taken up. Two Community Industry teams are operating in the area, with an approved capacity for employing 135 young people and on which 76 are currently working. A further 64 young people have obtained employment under the youth employment subsidy scheme. Under the expanded training programme the Training Services Agency is currently providing 38 short industrial courses in the area. Ninety-three young people are at present in training and by mid-1977 it is expected that 1,500 will have received training during the period 1976–77. In addition, the TSA is providing a series of preparatory courses in literacy and numeracy, on which eight young people are currently being trained. Industry training boards have also recruited a number of young people for first year off-the-job apprenticeship training with employers by means of premium training grants provided by ITBs. The adequacy of these measures in south-east London, as elsewhere, is kept constantly under review.