§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many apprenticeships arc given every year in crafts related to special skills connected with building, namely, carpentry, joinery and stonemasonry.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the following numbers of apprentices were registered with the appropriate bodies in the last five years.
Carpenters and joiners 1971 … … … … 3,691 1972 … … … … 4,417 1973 … … … … 6,095 1974 … … … … 5,689 1975 … … … … 6,029 Masons 1971 … … … … 125 1972 … … … … 119 1973 … … … … 215 1974 … … … … 145 1975 … … … … 171
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to introduce special training for school leavers of shorter duration than normal 18W apprenticeships as stonemasons and restorers on scheduled buildings.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the Training Services Agency has no plans to extend its direct training facilities for unemployed school leavers to include short courses designed specifically to train them in the standards required for stonemasons and restorers of scheduled buildings. The agency does, however, offer short courses of training at below craft level in construction for which unemployed school leavers with employment difficulties are eligible. These courses aim to equip young people with broadly-based elementary skills which will improve their chance of finding employment in construction and lay the foundations for further training on the job, including training to the standards required for stonemansonry and restoring scheduled buildings.