§ Rev. William McCreaTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of youth unemployment in Northern Ireland. [12557]
§ Mr. AncramThe Government are addressing the problem of unemployment among young people through a range of programmes which seek to provide the skills and abilities needed to obtain and retain employment.
These include Training and Employment Agency programmes such as jobskills, currently being used by almost 10,000 under-25s, which provides quality training leading to national vocational qualifications; the action for community employment scheme, 40 per cent. of the participants on which are placed in employment on leaving; and programmes providing work experience opportunities including some overseas.
The agency also works closely with the Department of Education to develop and implement vocational and educational training strategies aimed at helping young people who are entering the labour market for the first time. Over the past year, new courses have been put in place for young people wishing to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in tourism.
For those with higher qualifications, the teaching company scheme administered through the industrial research and technology unit develops young graduates 164W for careers in industry; more than 200 graduates have made use of the scheme in Northern Ireland, a rate of uptake well above the UK average.
The Government are working with the private sector Northern Ireland growth challenge to improve the links between industry and the education system at all levels.