Training (Hansard, 1 March 1988)

§ 42. Mr. Morley
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to reduce the number of young people entering work at 16 years without training.

§ Mr. Cope
The Government will continue to underline the value, to employers and young people alike, of quality training for young recruits. We have asked the Manpower Services Commission to ensure that YTS continues to develop both in quantity and quality so that it becomes the normal route for 16 and 17-year-old school leavers from school to employment. The national expansion of the technical and vocational educational initiative (TVEI) will increase the opportunities to gain vocational skills and qualifications for all those at school from the age of 14–18 years.

§ 63. Mr. Ingram
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the percentage of gross domestic product expended on training for the employed in 1979 and in the last available year.

§ Mr. Cope
I regret that this information is not available. Estimates of the costs of employers' training activities will be available in 1988 as part of the study of the funding of vocational education and training currently being undertaken by the Manpower Services Commission.
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§ 73. Mr. Boyes
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to make it a duty on all employers to provide training for all employees between 16 and 18 years of age.

§ Mr. Cope
No. The objective of improving the quality and quantity of the training given to young people is more effectively pursued through practical, voluntary measures such as YTS, which offers young people a structured programme of quality training and work experience and is the main route into employment for the under-18 age group.

§ 75. Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to increase the numbers of employees receiving regular training and retraining.

§ Mr. Cope
The number of employees receiving training continues to increase according to the labour force survey. Preliminary estimates show that in spring 1987, a total of 2,381,000 employees of working age received training in the last four weeks compared with 1,806,000 in 1984—an increase of over 30 per cent.
The Manpower Services Commission will continue to develop its policies to encourage employers to train adequately to meet skill needs. These include the development of a framework for training qualifications; the encouragement of industrywide training arrangements where appropriate; support for local collaboration between firms and training providers; the provision of training information and advice; special support for small firms.
The Manpower Services Commission is also developing a strategy to build employer commitment to training by demonstrating the contribution of training to firms' performance.

§ 91. Mr. Martlew
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the gross domestic product was expended on training for the unemployed in 1979 and in the last available year.

§ Mr. Cope
The inforation is not available in the form requested because some training schemes are available to both employed and unemployed people. However, the total expenditure on training programmes through the Manpower Services in 1978–79 was £380 million and in 1986–87 was £1,400 million. This represents 0.22 per cent. and 0.36 per cent. of gross domestic product respectively.

§ 84. Mr. Ron Brown
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in Lothian secured full-time employment during 1987 as a result of Manpower Services Commission training schemes; and if he will express this number as a percentage of the total unemployment in Lothian.

§ Mr. Lang
I have been asked to reply.
Information is not available in the form requested. In Lothian and Borders regions for the period April 1986 to August 1987—the latest period for which information is available — 6,090 people left YTS. Of the 3,426 who responded to the survey of leavers, 1,884 were in full-time employment three months after leaving YTS. Of the 836 people who completed old job training scheme courses in the period September 1986 to August 1987, a total of 515 responded to the survey and of those 288 were in full or part-time employment three months after leaving old JTS. Figures are not available in respect of other training 536W schemes. As trainees are not unemployed claimants, it would not be appropriate to express the result as a percentage of the total unemployed.