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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement about progress in introducing Entry to Employment provision. [69293] Mr. Stephen Twigg: In making its recommendations to encourage greater take up of Modern Apprenticeships, Sir John Cassels' Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee proposed the establishment of pre- employment provision for those young people not immediately able to enter a Modern Apprenticeship or other employment. The Learning and Skills Council and the Department have been working together over recent months with other relevant interests to develop a more effective set of arrangements in work-based learning that will enable more young people to progress to higher learning opportunities. To this end a pathfinder Entry to Employment programme will be introduced in the following areas from this August: Bedfordshire and Luton Bristol Central Birmingham and North Solihull Derbyshire Greater Manchester(Rochdale) Oxfordshire North Yorkshire Nottinghamshire Portsmouth and the South East Hampshire area Tyne and Wear (Newcastle and Gateshead). Current work-based learning provision beneath National Vocational Qualification at Level 2 will be subsumed within the new programme in which there will be a better focus on meeting individual aspiration and need. The Learning and Skills Council plan to evaluate the effectiveness of these pathfinders with a view to wider introduction of a new Entry to Employment programme by August 2003.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

388 c1177-9W;388 c1178-9W; 69293

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Apprentices Training Young people Modern apprenticeships

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk