§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the Construction Industry Training Board Centre in Glasgow; what money is available to assist the centre from the European Social Fund and from Her Majesty's Government, respectively, over the next three years; and whether, in view of the importance of the centre for the training of skilled workers for North Sea oil programmes, he will urge firms to give the project their maximum financial support.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe Construction Industry Training Board Centre was set up to provide training facilities for building and civil engineering operative skills to meet the normal work programmes and to correct any imbalances in the supply of trained workers who, it was anticipated, would be required for concrete platform construction and to create the infrastructure for the oil related industries.
The centre has only been in partial operation since April and it is too early for the CITB to determine precisely the full extent of the centre's long term operations. Provided that employers in the industry support the courses at the centre, which was set up at the request of the industry, the viability of the centre will be assured.
The centre will be able to offer a growing range of courses to meet the training needs of construction employers, in particular, those engaged in concrete gravity structure fabrication, but continuing and increasing support of the industry is essential.
The Board is concerned at the lack of take-up and is actively drawing the attention of the industry to the facility and the value to them and to Scotland of main- 26W taining a long term industry training facility. At the first "open day" of the centre on 23rd October, the CITB Deputy Chairman invited local firms to give maximum support to the centre.
I endorse that appeal and urge employers to make full use of the valuable facilities at this Centre.
In July 1975 the Commission of the European Communities reserved the following amounts for the Construction Industry Training Board for training activities carried out in the centre:
The Manpower Services Commission has made available to the CITB, through the Training Services Agency, grant-in-aid to a maximum of £96,500 over the financial years ending on 31st March 1976 and 1977, to assist the initial use and throughput on these new course facilities.
£ 1975 15,240 1976 44,165 1977 50,155 Total 109,560