§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons are currently undergoing training in clerical skills in London and in the whole of the United Kingdom under the auspices of the Training Services Agency; how many applications for such training places the Training Services Agency is receiving currently each week; and how many people who have applied and been accepted for places are currently awaiting training.
§ Mr. BoothI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that on 30th September 1975 797 people were receiving training in clerical skills in the London region of the Training Services Agency and 5,924 in Great Britain under the Training Opportunities Scheme. Training under this scheme is available only in England, Scotland and Wales.
As nearly all of this training is provided in colleges of further education applications are concentrated in the periods immediately before the start of college terms in September, January and April, rather than spread evenly over the year. In the first nine months of 1975, 862 people were accepted for training in London and 11,589 in Great Britain.
706Wwhat other information his Department has regarding current unemployment among young blacks.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerProcessing of the November 1975 statistics has been delayed by a computer fault and it is unlikely that the figures will be available before mid-December. The remainder of the information is as follows:
On 30th September 1975, 84 people in the TSA London Region and 1,559 in Great Britain were awaiting training.
§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current average lapse of time between an application being made to the Training Services Agency for training in clerical skills and the actual start of the course, and the average lapse of time between an applicant passing the test of suitability for a course and the start of that course in London and in the whole of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BoothI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that training in clerical skills is provided under the Training Opportunities Scheme almost wholly in colleges of further education.
The starting dates of college terms are well known and anyone who applies early knows that he or she will have to wait until the next term. The lapse of time between the date of an application for training and the date of starting training is therefore largely determined by the applicant.
It is not possible to give an estimate of the average waiting period from the time of acceptance. Not all colleges insist on an entry test. Some insist on both a test and an interview. Because of the different requirements of colleges in terms of pre-entry, statistics of the average lapse of time between acceptance and start of training are not available.