Unemployed School Leavers (Hansard, 13 April 1981)

§ Mr. McCusker
asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many unemployed school leavers there were in Northern Ireland on 31 March (a) under 18 years of age and (b) under 19 years of age; and what percentage of school leavers this represents.

§ Mr. Adam Butler
On 12 March 1981, 7,266 school leavers under 19 years of age were registered as unemployed; of these 5,436 were under 18 years of age. As the information on the number of school-leavers in 1980 is not yet available, it is not possible to calculate the percentage of school-leavers the above figures represent.

§ Mr. McCusker
asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the schemes operated by Government Departments in Northern Ireland designed to alleviate unemployment among school leavers; how many children have benefited from these schemes; and how many have obtained permanent employment as a result.

§ Mr. Adam Butler
The aim of the youth opportunities programme for Northern Ireland is to provide work experience, preparation and training opportunities for unemployed young people. The programme operates through a wide range of opportunities. These include:

Apprentice training in Government training centres.

Apprentice training with employers.

Work preparation units—locally-based workshops.
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Youthways and other courses in colleges of further education.

Enterprise Ulster—amenity projects.

Attachment training schemes—training with employers.

Work experience programme with employers.

Young persons courses at Government training centres—construction and engineering.

Younghelp—community service opportunities.

Office and business award and technician training.

Miscelleaneous—including schemes for disabled young people, National Trust scheme, and European social fund pilot projects.

Since the beginning of 1978, some 40,000 young people have participated in the programme. 35 per cent. of the participants in the YOP schemes were in employment or were guaranteed employment. Over 60 per cent. of the remainder have been placed in employment on completion of training.