HC Deb 19 April 1989 vol 151 c210W
83. Mrs. Maureen Hicks

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment to what extent a lack of trained personnel is threatening the ability of United Kingdom industry to meet the surge in demand.

Mr. Cope

Previous figures cannot express completely the extent of the threat. The most recent quarterly survey of industrial trends, conducted in January 1989 by the Confederation of British Industry, reported that 25 per cent. of manufacturing firms in the United Kingdom anticipated that a shortage of skilled labour would limit output over the coming four months.