Mr. Cartrightasked the Paymaster General if he will set out the number of applicants waiting for each of the courses offered at the Deptford skillcentre at the most recent convenient date, together with the estimated waiting period in each case.
§ Mr. TrippierThe waiting period for skillcentre courses can vary depending on the length of the course, which can range from two to 52 weeks, and on whether it recruits as vacancies become available or by block entry, for example to meet particular examination dates set by external bodies. The latest available information for courses running at Deptford skillcentre in 1987–88 is as follows:
Class Number on waiting list at 24 April Estimated waiting period (months) Bricklaying 28 8 Carpentry 60 12 Commercial Technology 36 3 Commercial Technology (Intermediate) 7 2 Group Electronics 9 5 Kitchen Fitting 15 5 Office Machinery 20 5 Painting and Decorating 50 12 Plastering 43 5 Plumbing 4 1 Screen Process Printing 26 7 Work Related Skills (Commercial) 47 4 Work Related Skills (Manual) 16 4 1 This course requires a block entry of 12 trainees, so the waiting period cannot be estimated. In addition to these, Deptford Skillcentre has been accepted as a managing agent for the new job training scheme, for which it expects an annual throughput of 1,200 trainees. Recruitment for the new scheme has just begun.