§ Mr. Roweasked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he takes to ensure that training schemes for which his Department is responsible ensure that the United Kingdom has sufficient skills available to it to meet industry's needs for the foreseeable future.
§ Mr. CopeEmployers are primarily responsible for meeting the skill needs of industry. Nevertheless, the Government make a significant contribution. The main emphasis is on helping young people and the unemployed through YTS and the new job training scheme. These programmes are designed to provide people with the opportunity to acquire qualifications and job-related skills to standards set by industry.
The mix of training provision in any particular area is dictated by the needs of the local labour market. The Manpower Services Commission is working with others to provide this information. It has recently introduced a computerised system to collect local labour market information and has set up a skills unit which monitors trends in the supply of and demand for skills.