§ Mr. SpellarTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress on modern apprenticeships in Northern Ireland. [20206]
§ Mr. AncramConsultation between the Training and Employment Agency, industry and relevant training organisations has shown widespread support for the introduction in Northern Ireland of arrangements similar to modern apprenticeships. Accordingly, the agency has been working with the industry representatives to agree Northern Ireland modern apprenticeship frameworks for introduction from September 1995, the same implementation date as for modern apprenticeships in Great Britain. It is planned to have agreed frameworks for 20 skill areas by that time, and subsequently to expand the approach progressively to other sectors. The Northern Ireland arrangements have been designed to meet Northern Ireland circumstances. Funding support for Northern Ireland modern apprenticeship training will be provided under the recently introduced jobskills programme.