§ Mr. George Grantasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are his plans for further support for industrial training and retraining in the Northern Region.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe Manpower Services Commission informs me that the Training Services Agency has published its proposals for developing training policies and programmes over the next five years and is currently examining how these can be implemented in the North and in the rest of the country.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Employment, in view of anticipated increases in unemployment in the autumn, whether he has any plans to increase the facilities provided by Government for adult training and retraining.
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§ Mr. Harold WalkerFacilities for adult training and retraining previously provided directly by this Department under the Training Opportunities Scheme are now the responsibility of the Manpower Services Commission. I understand that the commission, through the Training Services Agency, which operates the scheme, intends to continue the expansion of training generally. In its first five-year plan published recently the agency proposed giving particular attention to the needs of redundant workers. In a wider context the commission has prepared contingency plans for training should there be a rapid rise in unemployment. These plans are now with my Department for consideration.
However, the Government do not regard an increase in the underlying trend of unemployment as inevitable.