HC Deb 23 February 1982 vol 18 cc334-5W
Mr. Deakins

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the average adult wage in manufacturing industry is paid to apprentices.

Mr. Alison

Comprehensive information on the average earnings of apprenticies and full-time trainees is obtained only in periodical labour surveys. The latest figures, for 1978, are as follows:

Average annual earnings in manufacturing (Great Britain)
Pence per hour
(a) Apprentices and full-time trainees* 119.7
(b) All employees† 206.2
(a) as a percentage of (b) 58

Notes

* Based on firms with 200 or more employees.

†It is not possible to identify "adult" employees in the survey, and the average earnings of apprentices, and so on, are expressed as a percentage of those for all employees. In relation to "adult" employees, the earnings of apprentices, and so on, would tend to be slightly lower than the figure shown.