§ 33. Mr. Madelasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is satisfied with the preparedness of the further education service to assume its responsibilities under the youth training scheme in September; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe youth training scheme will present a great challenge to the further education service which is expected to provide a substantial share of the required off-the-job education and training. Many colleges will have participated in earlier schemes for young people and have been undertaking special pilot projects during 1982–83. There is no doubt that the mounting of the new scheme will be an enormous task and that problems will arise in some cases because of the very short notice which MSC and sponsors are able to give to colleges and local education authorities. There is, however, every reason for 71W confidence that further education is ready and willing to participate in YTS on a wide scale and with enthusiasm, and that, provided that the colleges are flexible enough to meet the demands of managing agents, the latter will make widespread use of the resources the colleges have to offer.