§ 20. Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what is the current failure rate of potential entrants taking the preliminary examination for acceptance into a Government retraining course.
§ Mr. Dell:Decisions on acceptance are made by the Trade Selection Panels which interview potentially suitable applicants. A preliminary sift by written test is only used for seven trades. In the last 12 months 6,034 applicants took such tests and 30 per cent. failed to qualify. The Trade Selection Panels saw 23,292 candidates, of whom 21 per cent. were not accepted.