Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are presently employed at Dundonald Training Centre; how many trainees are involved there; and what proposals she has to increase training opportunities in the boroughs of Ards, Castlereagh and North Down. [77796]
§ Mr. IngramResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. Ian Walters. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Ian Walters to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 23 March 1999:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Training and Employment Agency, to reply to your question about Dundonald Training Centre and training opportunities in the Boroughs of Ards, Castlereagh, and North Down.
Pending a decision on its future, Dundonald Training Centre is not currently operational. Five staff remain in the Centre to maintain the premises and provide support services to other parts of the training centre network. A further 30 T&EA staff are located on the Dundonald site engaged in duties which are not directly linked to the work of training centres. There are no trainees in the Centre at present.
A document on the future structure of relationships between training centres and Further Education Colleges, which was published for consultation purposes in September 1998, recommended a working partnership between colleges and training centres which would better utilise their respective strengths. The views and advice offered during the consultation process are being assessed and an announcement on the way forward is expected shortly.
The future of Dundonald Training Centre will depend upon the outcome of the Review. The extent to which vocational training arrangements in Ards, Castlereagh, and North Down might be further improved will be similarly addressed through the implementation of the Review's recommendations.
As you know, high quality training is available now under the New Deal and Jobskills programmes and will be offered shortly in Worktrack which will succeed ACE. Complementing these programmes is the recently announced strategy for Lifelong Learning, a £63 million initiative to encourage a culture of continuous learning. This major new initiative will help individuals of all ages to acquire the skills they need to meet the demands of a rapidly changing economy.
I hope you find this information useful.