§ 43. Mr. BoyesTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans his Department has to increase the level of training and retraining in the working population.
§ Mr. CopeThe Employment Bill provides that the Manpower Services Commission will be renamed the Training Commission. Its main task will be to encourage the provision of skills that companies need for growth and individuals needs for jobs.
To this end it will continue to develop the youth training scheme, as a high-quality training scheme for all young people under 18, including those in work, in order to produce a better qualified and more adaptable work force.
Its provision for adults will give a high priority to training for the unemployed. Especially the long-term unemployed, to enable them to compete successfully for the growing number of jobs. Following my right hon. Friend's announcement of 18 November, we are now considering the commission's proposals for implementing a new programme to train up to 600,000 adults a year at a cost of some £1.4 billion and we aim to publish details in a White Paper shortly.
We also look to the Training Commission to encourage and support others, especially employers, to respond to the lead given by this Department by increasing their investment in training and retraining throughout working life, to meet the demands of rapid change and competition.