Training (Hansard, 26 June 1995)

§ Ms Harman
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much was spent by employers on in-work training(a) in total and (b) per employee in each of the last five years. [30674]

§ Mr. Paice
It is estimated that employers in Great Britain spend over £20,000 million a year in total on training and developing their employees. Data for individual years and data on expenditure per employee are not available.

§ Ms Harman
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many, and what percentage, of the total number of employees in employment are employed by companies who are members of industry training organisations; [30690]
(2) how many and what percentage of British companies are members of industry training organisations. [30673]

§ Mr. Paice
The information is not available in the form requested. The latest available figures show that some 18 million—85 per cent.—of employees in employment worked in industries which were covered by industry training organisations.

§ Ms Harman
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on in-work training; [30676]
(2) what consultations his Department has had with employer's representatives concerning the development of Government policy on in-work training; [30691]
(3) what consultation his Department has had with the Trades Union Congress and individual trade unions on the development of Government policy on in-work training. [30695]

§ Mr. Paice
The Government's policy is to encourage employers and those in work to invest effectively in the skills needed for business and individual success now and in the future. We consult regularly with employers'438W representatives, and with TUC and trade unions where appropriate, about the best ways of achieving this.

§ Ms Harman
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the work of the industry training organisations. [30689]

§ Mr. Paice
Industry training organisations represent the interests of employers in their industries on a wide range of training matters. They represent the sectoral dimension of the national training framework, complementing locally focused training and enterprise councils. There are 120 ITOs and they have four major roles:

(a) monitoring the future skill requirements and training needs in their sector;

(b) developing and promoting occupational standards;

(c) encouraging employers in their sectors to increase their training;

(d) taking the lead for industries to promote national initiatives for example, modern apprenticeship frameworks.