§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people were undertaking craft apprenticeships in the engineering industry on (a) 31 December 1979 and (b) 31 December 1984; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison[pursuant to his reply, 5 March 1984, c. 473]: The information is not available in the precise form requested. However, the engineering industry training board estimates that the number of young people undertaking engineering craft apprenticeships was 61,000 for the training year from September 1979 to August 1980, and 37,500 for the last complete training year, to August 1984.
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 arrangements and the substantial provision of initial skills training now taking place under the youth training scheme.