§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of students from institutions of higher education in Northern Ireland who were not offered a placement on their year out of university or other institution by the start of the academic year in the current year and the last two years; and how many in each case never got a placement.
§ Dr. Mawhinney[holding answer 6 February 1991]: Placements are essentially a matter for the institutions, which have advised me that they do not hold information in the form requested. In the current academic year there are in Northern Ireland some 1,010 students on 50 256W separate courses involving year-long placements (compared with 980 in 1989–90 and 830 in 1988–89) and I have been assured that, through the combined efforts of the institutions and employers, the vast majority of this rapidly increasing group of students have always been placed for the full year.