§ Mr. Irvingasked the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration he has given to ways of providing greater encouragement to industry to expand apprenticeship training schemes for young people with particular regard to high technology jobs; whether he has any proposals to put to Parliament on this matter; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison[pursuant to his reply, 14 January 1985, c. 35]: The development of new technology gives rise to changed training needs for young people and adults alike. One of the main objectives of our adult training strategy is to secure an adequate supply of people with up-to-date skills to meet the demands of new technologies, upon which economic growth must be based. The primary responsibility for meeting skill needs rests with employers, who are best placed to determine their future skill requirements, including those for new technology. We have therefore recently launched a campaign to raise awareness among employers of the need for training and retraining.
With regard to young people, the Government continue to make support available through the youth training scheme, both for young people undertaking the first year of long-duration skill training including apprenticeships, and for information technology centres, which are making a positive contribution in equipping many young people with new technology skills.