§ Mr. DunnachieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the trend in the numbers of persons in Scotland availing themselves of youth training including credits and training for work schemes; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. StewartYouth training is demand-led. There is a downward trend in the number of young people in training due in part to the effect of demography. In addition more young people leaving school are moving into further or higher education, which has the effect of further reducing the potential client group. This can be seen when comparing those who entered youth training for the first time between April and September in 1992 and 1993 respectively. In 1992 over 15,000 joined youth training for the first time while in the same period in 1993 only around 12,500 did so.
The number of persons in training under training for work has also decreased since the programme started in April 1993. The introduction of the programme took place at the same time as the launch of an increased range of opportunities available to unemployed people through the Employment Service.