§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the availability of apprenticeship opportunities for people seeking full-time employment in the hotel and catering industry.
§ Mr. John Grant,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 28th June 1977; Vol. 934, c. 114], gave the following information:
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that, although the total number of apprentices is not known, in the current training year there are 2,231 craft trainees registered with the Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board and that the total numbers of candidates for City and Guilds hotel and catering craft examinations during last year rose to around 23,000. In addition, to stimulate recruitment above employers' normal intakes 200 premium grants have been made available and up to 30 training awards allocated to the industry for 1977–78 under the programme of special training measures. All this represents a substantial training effort to meet the needs both of the industry and of those seeking to enter it.