§ Mr. Cormackasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young men left the building industry during the period 1966 to 1971 without completing their apprenticeships; and if he will express this figure as a percentage.
§ Mr. BryanStatistics collected by Departments do not include this information. Information from figures issued by the National Joint Council for the Building Industry, which cover only those apprentices in Great Britain registered with the Council, indicates that in recent years about 4 per cent. of total apprentices registered ceased to be registered in each year.
§ Mr. Cormackasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of apprentices in the building construction industry on 1st October, 1971; and what percentage of the work force this figure represented.
§ Mr. BryanFigures for 1st October, 1971, from the annual Department of the Environment census of employment in the construction industry are not yet available. In September, 1970, 75,200 apprentices were employed: this represented 8.7 per cent. of the total number of operatives employed by contractors.