HC Deb 09 March 1988 vol 129 c263W
28. Mr. Irvine

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to forge closer collaborative links between industry and schools.

Mr. Butcher

A number of measures to forge closer collaborative links between industry and schools were announced as part of the enterprise initiative in the White Paper "DTI-the department for Enterprise" published on 12 January 1988. Three new targets were setevery year 10 per cent. of teachers should have the opportunity to gain some personal experience of the world of business every young person should have two or more weeks of work experience, suited to his or her ability and needs, before leaving school every trainee teacher should gain an appreciation of the needs of employers and the importance of links between schools and employers.

In addition, the Government's policy statement, "Action for Cities", announced by the Prime Minister on 7 March contained a range of initiatives including the Department of Employment's proposals to develop "compacts", initially in 12 of the urban programme areas. My Department will be working closely with DES and MSC to foster these partnerships and a wide range of other links between schools and business.