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18 Nov 2004 : Column 2146W—continued
Ministerial Visits (Wandsworth)
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Ministers from his Department have visited the London borough of Wandsworth in each of the last five years; and what the purpose was of each visit. [197123]
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
From the information available, the following visits to the London borough of Wandsworth have been undertaken by Ministers in this Department and its predecessor, the Department for Education and Employment, in the last five years.
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Modern Apprenticeships
Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made by the Modern Apprenticeships Task Force in encouraging businesses to participate in the Modern Apprenticeship scheme. [198852]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Apprenticeships Task Force chaired by Sir Roy Gardner, Chief Executive of Centrica plc, was asked to focus on increasing the number of employers taking on apprentices. A significant part of the Task Force's work has involved members championing Apprenticeships within their sector and the wider business community through identifying and promoting the business benefits their companies enjoy from employing apprentices. In addition members are leading by example by increasing the number of apprentices recruited by their companies. The Task Force has also played a key role in supporting the Learning and Skills Council in its ongoing marketing campaign aimed at employers, such as a recent series of articles in the business section of The Mail on Sunday. More information about the work of the Task Force is available on their website www.employersforapprentices.gov.uk and in its Interim Report, which is due to be published shortly.
Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many young people aged 16 to 25 years have successfully completed a modern apprenticeship in Hertfordshire within the last five years; and what the figures are in Lancashire; [198854]
(2) what proportion of places on the Modern Apprenticeship scheme are in electrical engineering. [198853]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Modern Apprenticeships have been (a) started and (b) finished since their inception, broken down by trade. [198856]
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Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 16 November 2004]:The total numbers of government supported Apprenticeships to have been (a) started and (b) finished, up until the end of July 2003 are shown in the table.
| Starts(97) | Leavers(98) | |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Apprenticeship | 477.6 | 446.6 |
| Apprenticeships (at level 2) | 469.3 | 347.2 |
(97) Excludes transfers between programmes.
(98) Includes those who completed the Apprenticeship framework, those who achieved the NVQ component, but did not complete the framework and those who left early without achieving the NVQ.
Sources:
DfES Statistical First Release (SFR) "Government-Supported, Work-based Learning for Young People in England: 2001/02" Reference: SFR27/2002
LSC SFR "Further Education and Work Based Learning for Young People—Learner Numbers in England: 2002/03" Reference: ILR/SFR02
LSC SFR "Further Education and Work Based Learning for Young People—Learner Outcomes in England: 2002/03" Reference: ILR/SFR04
Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) management information
Because of learners transferring between programmes, it is not possible to estimate the number in learning from the starts and leavers figures given in the table.
It is not possible to break these figures down by trade. However, the more recent data are broken down by sector framework and published on the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Apprenticeship Frameworks website: http://maframeworks.lsc.qov.uk/.
Motor Servicing/Vehicle Industry
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of skilled technicians entering the motor servicing industry in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [198857]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The Department does not collect overall data on the number of skilled technicians entering the motor servicing industry. However a major route for entry is via a Motor Industry apprenticeship.
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In 2002/03 there were 3,471 people who completed a Motor Industry apprenticeship and gained a full framework or NVQ achievement (source http://maframeworks.lsc.gov.uk).
Automotive Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the automotive industry, will be undertaking research into skills shortages and skills gaps affecting the sector in the future.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many fully qualified motor mechanics there have been in each of the last 30 years. [198859]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect data on the number of fully qualified motor mechanics.
Automotive Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the automotive industry, will be undertaking research into skills shortages and skills gaps affecting the sector in the
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provision is in place to train motor mechanics in new computerised automated motor vehicle technologies. [198860]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The LSC has, in the last three years, recognised 10 Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) in motor vehicle technology, resulting in a significant increase in the capacity to support the delivery of training in this specialist area. This investment will have a continuous effect through the key role of the CoVEs as disseminators of good practice and quality improvement across the whole college network.
On-going developments in this area will be taken forward through the joint working between the LSC and Automotive Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the industry within the Sector Skills Agreement Process. Additionally, manufacturers and equipment suppliers also provide training in this area.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to introduce nationally-recognised qualifications for the UK motor vehicle industry. [198810]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: There are a range of National Vocational Qualifications and Vocationally Related Qualifications available for both motor vehicle manufacture and retail service. These qualifications are nationally accredited by the Qualifications Curriculum Authority for England, and Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru (ACCAC) for Wales.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average amount of training delivered per technician given by the motor manufacturing industry was in England in 2003–04; and which motor vehicle manufacturers provided levels of training (a) above and (b) below the average. [198811]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The statistics collected on training in the motor manufacturing sector do not separate technician training from training for other employees such as managers. However People Skills Scoreboard, which is a joint Engineering Employers Federation/Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies publication provides information on general training in the sector. Participation in the Scoreboard, which is
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used for benchmarking purposes, is voluntary. For more information on People Skills Scoreboard see website www.peopleskillsscoreboard.com
Of the larger companies (over 200 employees) taking part in the People Skills Scoreboard, the following firms provide five days per person or more off-the-job training for their employees:
The companies with below average off-the-job training days per employee, tend to be small companies (there are no companies in the "bottom 10" with more than 50 employees).
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what plans he has to publicise best practice in the motor vehicle maintenance trade in the UK; [198812]
(2) what assessment he has made of the robustness of methods for assessing technical competence in the UK motor vehicle maintenance industry. [198815]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The DFES has licensed and funded a new Sector Skills Council, Automotive Skills, who are working with the sector's professional bodies and trade associations—the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF), the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) amongst others—to explore the scope for a coherent response to raising skill levels across the industry.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will introduce ongoing effective technician competence assessment in the UK motor industry. [198813]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UK Motor Industry is considering this issue at present. The Institute of the Motor Industry are currently piloting off-the-job competence testing of technicians and keeping other key partners, including the DTI, the Automotive Skills SSC and the Consumer Association, informed of progress.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial assistance is available to the UK motor vehicle maintenance industry to improve standards of training and competence. [198814]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
Automotive Skills, the recently approved SSC for the automotive sector, will be responsible for establishing the requirements for the sector and developing the responses to these. Automotive Skills will be eligible for up to £5 million of assistance from the Sector Skills Development Agency over the next three years for carrying out its work.
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Employers are eligible for financial assistance towards training for a wide range of employer developed schemes/qualifications. These include National Vocational Qualifications Level 2 (through the Employer Training Pilots, currently operating in 20 of the 47 LSC areas) and Apprenticeship training.
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