§ 18. Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Employment what progress has been made by the Manpower Services Commission in drawing up detailed proposals for extending the youth training scheme to two years.
§ Mr. Tom KingThe Manpower Services Commission has begun discussions with employers, trade unions and other interested bodies about the expansion of the youth training scheme, and has been asked to make detailed recommendations by the end of June.
§ 19. Mr. Amessasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many places are currently allocated from the youth training scheme and the community programme to (a) Basildon and (b) Essex.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkAt the end of March 1985, there were 1,152 approved youth training scheme places in Basildon local authority district which includes Basildon, Billericay and Wickford and 9,403 approved youth training scheme places in the county of Essex. The corresponding figures for filled places on the community programme are 334 and 1,719 respectively.
§ 20. Mr. Kenneth Carlisleasked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he proposes in order to improve the quality of training available in the community programme.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonOver half of the participants on the community programme already receive some form of training directly related to their work. This is increasingly being supplemented by specially designed broader training courses provided under the adult training strategy.
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§ 27. Mr. Heathcoat-Amoryasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many vacant places there are currently on the youth training scheme.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonInformation is not available in the precise form requested. At the end of March 1985 some 396,000 youth training scheme places had been approved for the 1984–85 financial year, and there were around 271,000 young people in training. Not all of these approved places were available for occupation at that time.
§ 50. Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people are currently being trained in Hampshire on youth training schemes.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThere were 6,200 young people in training on the youth training scheme in Hampshire at the end of March 1985.
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Employment to what he attributes the current under-occupancy of mode A youth training scheme places.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonWe need to provide sufficient youth training scheme mode A places to satisfy the forecast demand from eligible young people and to allow them the choice of a range of training programmes. Some places have remained unfilled because it appears that more school leavers than expected have found jobs outside the scheme.
The Manpower Services Commission and my Department will shortly be issuing circulars to commission area staff and careers officers, respectively, about the need, where there is a choice of suitable places, for young people to be submitted in preference to mode A in accordance with the Government's and the commission's aim that the scheme should be primarily employer based.
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the relative value of mode A youth training scheme schemes and mode B youth training scheme schemes, respectively, in making the transition from school to work.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it his practice to refer to those who sponsor youth training schemes under both mode A and mode B as employers.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonNo. The large majority of trainees in the youth training scheme are not employed by scheme providers. The terms "managing agent" and "sponsor" which are currently used more accurately reflect the relationship between providers and most trainees.
§ Mr. Dykesasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has been able to examine the implications of an extension of the youth training scheme facilities from one to two years on the United Kingdom retail sector.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe Manpower Services Commission's consultations about a two-year youth training scheme are at an early stage, but we will take full account of the needs and circumstances of the retail sector in drawing up detailed recommendations for the extended scheme.