§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total number of apprenticeships in Scotland in each of the years 1979 to 1987, inclusive.
§ Mr. LangI regret that the information is not available in the precise form requested. The table shows the number of apprentices and other trainees in manufacturing industry in Scotland since 1981. In 1988, as a percentage of all manufacturing employees, the number of apprentices and other trainees was higher in Scotland than in any other Great Britain region.
Apprentices and Trainees in Scottish Manufacturing Industries 1981–1988 Year Apprentices (000s) Other (000s) All trainees (000s) 1981 13.6 4.2 17.8 1982 12.3 4.8 17.1 1983 11.9 2.8 14.7 1984 8.3 2.6 11.0 1985 8.3 2.8 11.1 1986 6.3 2.7 9.0 1987 5.8 2.8 8.6 1988 6.1 4.9 11.0 Notes:
1. The figures refer to March of each year.
2. Many of those receiving initial skills training under YTS, specifically those without a contract of employment, are not counted as employees and so do not appear in the above table.
3. With the move away from traditional apprentice training in many industries some long duration schemes of a type which previously could have involved apprenticeships may now be classified as "other training".