HL Deb 20 July 1954 vol 188 cc1240-2WA
LORD GLYN

asked Her Majesty's Government what are the average daily and weekly earnings of the workers in the mining industry, according to their respective tasks and in the various districts of the National Coal Board administration; and what are the special inducements offered to youths who desire to be apprentices to this industry.

THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (LORD LLOYD)

The answer to the first part of the question is as follows:—

The average earnings per shift and per week of workers in deep mines worked by the National Coal Board in the first quarter of 1954 (the latest period for which figures are available), were:—

Statistics in the same form for each of the twenty wage districts separately are given in the Quarterly Statistical Statement of the Costs of Production, Proceeds and Profit or Loss of Collieries for the First Quarter of 1954, published by the National Coal Board.

The answer to the second part is that the National Coal Board offers apprenticeships in mechanical and electrical engineering and associated crafts in the mining industry; these apprenticeships are available both to boys already in the industry and to outside candidates. Entrants to other occupations are not apprenticed, but their practical training is systematically planned. Apprentices and other suitable boys are released during working hours with pay to attend classes (for which the National Coal Board pays the fees) leading to recognised technical or other qualifications; youths who show suitable abilities have opportunities of obtaining qualifications for managerial or professional posts either through part-time day classes or by full-time courses at a university, for which the National Coal Board offer up to 100 scholarships per year (in Mining, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Fuel Technology). These scholarships are open to boys already in the industry and to boys leaving public and grammar schools. When they have qualified, either through a university or through a technical college, students are eligible for a two or three year full-time course under the National Coal Board's Scheme for Directed Practical Training.

Wherever appropriate, the Youth Employment Service brings these opportunities to the attention of suitable boys. The fundamental concern of the Service, in advising young people and in placing them in employment, is to fit them into jobs suited to their qualifications, aptitudes and interests. Subject to this, the officers of the Service are instructed to ensure, so far as possible, that national needs are taken into account, and where there is a choice of suitable jobs, to call the attention of young people to those in which they could make the best contribution to the community.

House adjourned at a quarter before six o'clock.