§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what use his Department makes of psychometric testing techniques; what plans he has to extend the use of psychometric testing techniques in his Department; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe Department's main use of psychometric tests is in the individual assessment of the capabilities of, people with disabilities by placing, assessment and counselling teams. Where tests are used,
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Mr. PlckthallTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many men between the ages of 18 and 45 years were unemployed in 1993.
§ Miss WiddecombeIn the United Kingdom, in 1993, the average level of claimant unemployment, unadjusted for seasonal effects, stood at 1,700,561 among men aged between 18 and 44—the closest available age group.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the London boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets between the ages of 18 and 25 years are in(a) further education, (b) Government employment training schemes and (c) currently unemployed.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe available information for individual boroughs, which does not cover participants in Government training schemes, is given in the table:
performance then forms part of the basis for counselling and action planning to support people's efforts to find employment. Internally, the Department uses psychometric tests to a limited extent in its management development programmes.
Providers with whom the Department contracts to deliver services to unemployed people may choose to use psychometric tests. Guidance is made available through a regularly updated, "Review of Psychometric Tests for Assessment in Vocational Training"; this authorative publication was initiated by the Department and is now maintained by the British Psychological Society.
The Department has no plans to extend the use of psychometric tests as such, but will do so where they offer a cost-effective addition to the basis for decisions.