Chamber and committees

There are no national targets for MAs by industrial or occupational sector.

The Skillseekers programme, which includes delivery of Modern Apprenticeships, is largely demand-led. The 2 main factors are the skills needs of employers and their willingness to train young people and the choices made by young people about their own career path.Skillseekers and Modern Apprenticeships are managed and delivered by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise through their network of Local Enterprise Companies. The LECs, in their capacity as local economic development agencies, are well placed to understand and manage the balance between skills needs and demand in their local economy. They can also work with the new National Training Organisations to assess training and skills needs in specific sectors.

Since Modern Apprenticeships were introduced in Scotland in 1996 17,726 young people have entered the programme and 1,979 people have completed.Since a Modern Apprenticeship takes 3-4 years to complete, 1999-2000 is the first year when we expect a number of young people to complete their training. We have set Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise a target of 2100 Modern Apprentices to complete their training by March 2000.

I refer the member to the answer to S1W-2067.

The Scottish Office allocation for the Drug Prevention Initiative in the last three financial years of operation was £387,000 each year.

We have no such plans. A comprehensive UK-wide review of the NVQ/SVQ system was conducted between 1996 and 1998 during which employers, National Training Organisations (NTOs) and awarding bodies identified the need for improvements to the assessment process. NTOs are responsible for defining the standards of competence which SVQs recognise. Revised criteria issued by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in May 1999 now require NTOs also to recommend to awarding bodies any independent assessment considered necessary, the workplace conditions under which assessment should be conducted, and the occupational expertise required by assessors and verifiers.

The Skillseekers programme is designed to provide work-based training for young people which leads to qualification up to SVQ Level III. HNCs are broadly equivalent to SVQ Level IV which is a higher level qualification than would normally be funded through Skillseekers.Skillseekers provides training which leads to occupational competence. SVQs are competence-based qualifications designed to industry standards, so provide a relevant qualification.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority carries out tracking research for its full portfolio of qualifications, and for SVQs specifically, to elicit information from stakeholders, including employers, about the awareness, understanding, relevance and perceived benefits of the different types of awards. The research does not seek to make comparisons since the different forms of qualifications are part of the same national framework in Scotland, exist to meet different needs, and are complementary. The Scottish Executive is conducting research in the current financial year to investigate the perceptions of employers of the benefits of offering work-based training and opportunities to acquire SVQs in the workplace.

Opportunities and Choices, the Consultation Paper on Post-School Provision for 16-18 year olds raises the issue of funding a wider range of qualifications through the Skillseekers programme. The responses to the consultation exercise are currently being analysed.A consultation paper on the future position of the Training for Work programme will be published later this year.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government, which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing Scottish organisations.

The number of people in Scotland participating at end May 1999 are:

(a) New Deal 50 plus: Programme not yet commenced. Pathfinders started on 28 October 1999.

(b) New Deal 25 plus pilots: Information on pilot clients will be available in the Autumn.

(c) New Deal for long-term unemployed people aged 25 plus: 7,500

(d) New Deal for Partners of Unemployed People: 37

(e) New Deal for Disabled People: 233(f) New Deal for Lone Parents: 4,630

This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise and I have asked the Chairman to write to the Member and will arrange for copies of the replies to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).