§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Paymaster General if he will list the number of apprentices undertaking training by the Engineering Industry Training Board from 1979 to the present date; what has been the product of the training levy each year over the same period; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure more training and more skills for industrial areas generally and the west midlands in particular.
§ Mr. TrippierThe Engineering Industry Training Board maintains a record of those trainees registering for basic craft and technician training. The figures for the period from 1979 to the present date are given in table 1.
Total employment in the engineering industry has fallen by approximately one third since the late 1970s, and the proportion of people employed as craftsmen and technicians has declined by about the same amount.
Apprenticeship is not the only route of craft and technician jobs. YTS already enables a substantial amount 662W of intial skills training to be carried out, and the expanded two-year scheme will provide increased opportunity for flexible training relevant to employers' needs.
The product of the Engineering Industry Training Board's training levy for each year over the same period is given at table 2. The totals are broken down into levy from the mainstream engineering industry and the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Construction Industry.
Employers have the responsibility and are best placed to identify their own skill needs and ensure an appropriate volume and quality of training at all levels, but the Government are providing substantial help through its £1½ billion training programmes for young people and adults. In the west midlands region approximately £108 million was spent on training programmes in the financial year 1985–86 and forecast expenditure for the financial year 1986–87 is estimated at approximately £119 million.
Table 1—Registrations Year Registrations 1978–79 27,758 1979–80 26,186 1980–81 23,153 1981–82 17,547 1982–83 12,888 1983–84 11,664 1984–85 10,321 1985–86 10,558 Note:
This figure includes trainees outside the engineering industry who are registered to E17B for certification purposes.
Table 2—Product of Engineering Industry Training Board Levy (£ million's) Year Mainstream MEECI Total 1978–79 17.05 3.23 20.28 1979–80 17.26 4.58 21.84 1980–81 14.15 3.15 17.30 1981–82 24.38 3.34 27.72 1982–83 22.70 3.35 26.05 1983–84 13.14 3.87 17.11 1984–85 14.56 4.24 18.80 11985–86 11.99 4.31 16.30 1Figures for 1985–86 are estimates only.