Employment Training Scheme (Hansard, 29 July 1988)

§ Mr. Harry Greenway
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are employed under the new employment training scheme; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Nicholls
Employment training will be launched on 5 September 1988 and will provide around 300,000 training places when fully operational. Participants in employment training will be trainees and not employees. Excellent progress has already been made, and the Training Commission has reached agreement with prospective providers for the provision of some 270,000 of the 300,000 places needed. I am confident that contracts for the remaining 30,000 places will be agreed before 5 September.

§ Mr. Meacher
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in theOfficial Report a breakdown of (a) the percentage of places for which bids have been received and (b) the percentage of places provisionally allocated nationally for the local education authority maintained further education sector and other agencies which are directly controlled by county or metropolitan authorities under the new employment training scheme.
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§ Mr. Nicholls
The Training Commission has received bids to provide over 700,000 training places, more than twice the 300,000 places needed for employment training. No breakdown of these bids is available.
On 12 July, the latest date for which detailed information is available, about 24 per cent, of places had been provisionally allocated to local authorities.

§ Mr. Nicholas Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has received any representations from the Transport and General Workers Union concerning the employment training programme; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Nicholls
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no formal representation from the Transport and General Workers Union about employment training. I am aware, however, that a compaign of opposition and protest has been organised by the union in some parts of the country in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the programme in September. I am pleased to say that this campaign has had no effect on the process of contracting, which is now well advanced. Employment training will be launched exactly as planned on 5 September.