§ Mr. Wyn Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Government have considered the possibility of introducing an obligatory year of vocational training for school leavers without a job; and what estimate they have made of the consequnt reduction in youth unemployment.
§ Mr. GoldingNo. The Government do not consider that an obligatory year of vocational training would be an appropriate means of meeting the varying needs of all unemployed school leavers. However, the Government are considering a report produced by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) on "Young People and Work", which proposes a range of measures for young people, including vocational training for school leavers without jobs. The MSC's proposals for unemployed young people, if fully implemented, could provide a maximum number of places at any one time of almost 130,000.