§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what his estimate is of(a) current job vacancies and (b) job vacancies to be covered by the new training initiative.
§ Miss WiddecombeIn May 1994, the seasonally adjusted number of unfilled vacancies at United Kingdom jobcentres stood at 147,000. It is estimated that, nationally, jobcentre vacancies represent about one third of all unfilled vacancies.
Modern apprenticeships are training places; high-quality training, typically taking about three years to complete. In five years' time there could be over 150,000 apprentices in training if employers respond, as I am sure that they will.