§ 62. Mr. Fosterasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current number of apprenticeships in manufacturing industry; and what was the comparable figure in May 1979.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe most recent estimate of the number of people employed as apprentices in manufacturing industries is 82,000 at March 1984, and the earliest comparable figure available is 124,000 at March 1982.
The numbers entering traditional apprenticeships will become increasingly irrelevant as a measure of the real level of skills training being undertaken by industry because of both the reform of existing training arrangements and the substantial provision of initial skills training now taking place under the youth training scheme.