§ Mr. Harold Walkerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers of persons of each sex who took courses under the training opportunities scheme in each of the last five years; and what numbers he is expecting to take such courses in each of the next five years.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe number of people completing courses under the training opportunities programme by sex, for each of the past five years is as follows:
Year Male Female Total 1976–77 49,772 39,879 89,651 1977–78 55,760 43,204 98,964 1978–79 42,033 28,332 70,365 1979–80 42,875 32,442 75,317 1980–81 41,175 25,135 66,310 The 1976–77 figures include 15,001 young people; figures for 1977–78 include 20,294 young people. Since 1978 when the youth opportunities programme was introduced, training for young people has been linked to this programme rather than TOPS. In the current financial year 61,000 people are expected to complete TOPS courses of whom about 35 per cent. are expected to be females. Detailed plans for the next five years are not yet available.