§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what efforts the Department has made at EU level to raise the level of investment in new information and communication technologies training. [51233]
§ John HealeyThe Department for Education and Skills has overall responsibility, working in conjunction with the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, for the implementation of the SOCRATES, LEONARDO da VINCI and YOUTH programmes, which focus respectively on EU cooperation in the areas of education, vocational training and youth. The UK ensured that, in the negotiation of the current generation of these programmes which began in 2000, increased importance was given to the acquisition of information and communication technology (ICT) skills, which is an important element in each of them.
Prior to the 2001 election, the then Department for Education and Employment was also responsible for the European Social Fund. Activities supported by ESF include training to improve information and communication technology skills.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures the Department has taken since 1997 to increase the availability of training for workers in the use of new information and communication technologies. [51231]
§ John HealeyThe Department has introduced an extensive range of measures that provide opportunities for training in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT).
302WThese include:
The development of the learndirect service—providing over 400,000 learning opportunities in ICT during 2001–02Over 2,600 UK online centres providing community access to ICT, to help people take the first step to learning about computers and the internetIndividual learning accounts—it is estimated that ILAs provided support for around 1.2 million ICT coursesKey skills training—which ensures that all publicly funded vocational courses, such as modern apprenticeships, include a mandatory ICT element.These examples are in addition to the large number of ICT courses provided by further education colleges and adult education centres funded through the learning and skills councils, and a wide range of opportunities for job seekers to gain and improve their ICT skills through New Deal.
The Department has also introduced reforms to the national curriculum in England—all pupils, from age 5–16, are taught ICT, either as a separate subject or through other subjects—ensuring that the work force of the future is properly equipped for the demands of the 21st century.