§ Mr. Youngerasked the Minister of Labour whether he will now set up an industrial retraining centre in South Ayrshire, in view of the large number of redundancies expected as a result of the closure of collieries.
§ Mr. HattersleyGovernment Training Centres can only be established successfully in relatively large centres of population where there is a continuing local demand both for training places and for trainees who have completed their courses. Redundant miners in South Ayrshire who want and are suitable for the accelerated training given at Government Training Centres can obtain it at any of the 38 Centres at which the trade of their choice is taught. Scotland has eight Centres, including one at Irvine in North Ayrshire, and a ninth is to open at Bells-hill (North Lanarkshire) later this year.
§ Mr. Youngerasked the Minister of Labour how many workers who have been retrained at the industrial retraining 90W centre at Irvine have not been accepted in subsequent employment in the skill in which they have been retrained; and what action he is taking to help these people.
§ Mr. HattersleyOut of 235 men who completed courses at the Irvine Government Training Centre during 1967, 180 were placed in employment in their training trades by the end of the year. Seven of the remaining 55 have since been placed. My local officers are continuing their efforts to help the remainder. The main difficulty is that many of them are unwilling to accept a job away from their home area.