HC Deb 29 March 1988 vol 130 cc420-2W
32. Mr. Vaz

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment on what business he has calculated the briding allowance provided to young people while they wait for a YTS scheme.

Mr. Cope

The proposed YTS bridging allowance is designed to provide short-term payments for young people who have to wait for a few weeks for a YTS place after leaving a job or a previous YTS place. The allowance will be paid for a maximum of eight weeks, during which time the offer of a YTS place will be made. The allowance will be set initially at £15 per week, more than twice the level of child benefit.

42. Mr. Martlew

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of YTS leavers enter employment with employers who did not supply their training or work experience.

Mr. Cope

The latest results from the Manpower Services Commission's regular follow-up surveys of YTS leavers show that, of those young people who left YTS schemes between April 1986 and September 1987, 30 per cent. were in full time employment with an employer who did not supply their training or work experience (or were self-employed) at the time of the surveys.

50. Miss Lestor

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will reimburse all travel costs to persons on YTS.

Mr. Cope

There are no plans to reimburse all travel costs to persons on YTS.

51. Mr. Patnick

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures for YTS trainees going into work, or further education and training.

Mr. Cope

The Manpower Services Commission conducts regular follow-up surveys of all YTS leavers. The latest results show that, of those who left YTS schemes between April 1986 and September 1987, 75 per cent. were in work, further education or in training when surveyed.

66. Dr. Godman

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of young people receive their first choice option of YTS schemes.

Mr. Cope

I regret that this information is not available.

74. Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of YTS leavers enter employment with the same employer who provided their training or work experience.

Mr. Cope

The latest results from the Manpower Services Commission's regular follow-up surveys on YTS leavers show that, of those young people who left YTS schemes between April 1986 and September 1987, 26 per cent. were full-time in employment with the employer who ran their YTS scheme or provided work experience at the time of the surveys.

81. Ms. Quinn

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the most recent estimates of job substitution rates for YTS.

Mr. Cope

The latest estimates based on evidence from the 1985–86 YTS providers survey show a rate of job substitution of 6 per cent. This represents the proportion of training places that have replaced jobs for adults.

117. Mr. Boyes

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of YTS leavers attain a recognised qualification.

Mr. Cope

The latest results from the 100 per cent. follow-up survey of YTS leavers in the period April 1986 to September 1987 show that 20 per cent. of leavers gained a qualification. However, during this period 90 per cent. of leavers from YTS were early leavers who had not completed their training course and, therefore, were not representative of all trainees. Most young people will not complete their two-year training programme until after March 1988. A national survey of those trainees who have stayed into their second year shows that 54 per cent. had already gained a qualification.

121. Mr. Robert B. Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a further statement on the progress of the YTS scheme.

Mr. Cope

The beginning of April marks the second anniversary of the two-year YTS. During the past two years, very important progress has been made. At any one time there are on average more than 400,000 young people in training, compared with 285,000 in 1985; and of course YTS now offers two years of training. In addition, of those young people who left YTS schemes between April 1986 and September 1987, a total of 75 per cent. went into work or futher education and training.

We are continuing to improve further the high quality of training on offer. Over 50 per cent. of trainees entering their second year on YTS had already gained a vocational qualification, and all YTS managing agents have to secure approved training organisations status if they are to continue to work with YTS.

Overall, YTS is making a major contribution to meeting the needs of employers and the wishes of young people. The task now is the ensure that YTS provides the opportunity for all young people who enter the labour market to gain the skills and qualifications which will enhance their job prospects arid meet the demands of the labour market.