§ Mr. Molloyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what studies he has made of the problems of unemployment in industries where trades and skills have become out of date as a result of technological advances; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoldingMy Department has not recently undertaken any studies on this matter, although studies which touched on the problems of obsolescence in particular industries were undertaken in the late 1960's by the Department's Manpower Research Unit.
However, the Manpower Services Commission is financing a project by the Manpower Research Group at Warwick University, whose results are expected to touch on this issue, among many others. The project is to assess medium-term employment prospects and to examine particular problems in the structure of employment among which is the anticipation of changes in the demand for labour which have an "exceptional" impact on the level and/or distribution of labour, such as technical changes.
My Department is also aware of evidence from the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University and ILO work on the employment consequences of technical developments in metal trades.
§ Mr. Molloyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he is taking to cater for the retraining of workers whose trades are no longer required as a result of technological advances; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoldingI shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.