§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Employment what further steps he is taking to improve employment prospects for school leavers in Kirkby.
§ Mr. Golding, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19th January 1977; Vol. 924, c. 216], gave the following information:
A wide range of special measures for alleviating unemployment among school leavers and other young people are being deployed in Kirkby. At present 118 young people are employed on job creation projects and community industry, and under the youth employment subsidy scheme applications from employers for grants to employ 24 young people have so far been dealt with. Under the work experience programme three schemes have been approved in Kirkby and five young people are 549W currently participating. Expanded training facilities have enabled 30 young people to commence first-year off-the-job apprenticeship training at Kirkby Further Education College under the industrial training board special awards scheme and a further six are currently being trained on short industrial courses provided by the Training Services Agency. Many more young people will be assisted by these courses during the coming months. Although precise figures are not available, many young people have obtained apprenticeship or junior operator training with employers by means of premium training grants paid by ITBs.
Under the Government's arrangements for the strengthening of the Careers Service in areas of severe unemployment, one additional careers officer and one employment assistant have been appointed to the Knowsley careers office. These officers are wholly engaged in obtaining employment or training opportunities for all unemployed young people in the area, which includes Kirkby. The adequacy of these measures in Kirkby, as elsewhere, is kept constantly under review.
Other facilities, such as wider opportunities courses, preparatory courses in literacy and numeracy and special industrial courses at skillcentres, are available to youngsters in Kirkby who are prepared to travel to other Merseyside districts.