§ Mr. CROOKSasked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that girls who were trained in the Joan of Arc Hostel, at a cost of approximately £100, are unable to find employment because employers to whom application has been made state that the applicants have not served a sufficiently long apprenticeship; and whether, in view of the money already expended, he will consider the possibility of extending the period to make the training complete, or take special steps to have these girls employed as improvers until such time as they are fully efficient?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe implication contained in my right hon. Friend's question, that these girls are unable to find work owing to any insufficiency in their training, is not borne out by our experience. Of those girls who com-604W pleted their training in dressmaking in similar centres during the earlier part of the year, approximately 90 per cent, found immediate employment at standard rates, and it was not until the present depression in trade occurred that any difficulty was experienced in placing these trainees. I am assured that no complaints have been received from employers as to the training given by the Ministry of Labour. I would add that the total cost of training is £35 per head, and not £100 as stated by my right hon. Friend.