MINISTRY OF LABOUR TRAINING DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER No. 1 PROGRESS MADE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL TRAINING ACT INTRODUCTION 1. This is the first of a series of Newsletters issued by Training Department on progress being made in the implementation of the Industrial Training Act. It will be issued regularly to Regional Controllers to supplement the information they obtain from other sources to ensure that, as far as possible, they are aware of the position reached and of impending developments. The needs of Exchange Managers and Youth Employment Officers will be met by the issue by the HQ. branches concerned of periodical digests of the Newsletters. This first issue summarises the position reached. Future issues will deal only with developments since the last issue. 2. It is hoped that, before the end of the year, a new series of circulars on the Industrial Training Act will be issued which will bring together the present instructions on such matters as the supply of information to Boards, appeals procedure etc. DETAILS OF BOARDS ESTABLISHED AND IN PROSPECT 3. During the period June, 1964, to August, 1965, the following Industrial Training Boards were established: 4. It is anticipated that by the end of the year Boards will be set up for the following industries-furniture and timber; cotton and allied industries; knitting lace and net; man-made fibers; carpets. 5. Section 13 of the Act is not being invoked for the Board that will cover the Cotton industry because it was found to have important limitations on the scope of the activities that such a Board could cover. The Board will therefore be a normal one and embrace certain industries such as the narrow fabrics industries that are not now within scope of the Cotton Board. The scope of the Wool Board is to be extended to include the jute, flax and cordage industries. It is intended that the five textile Boards shall set up a Joint Committee to deal with common matters. Further industries for which the establishment of Boards is being considered are hotel and catering; agriculture; distribution; and road transport, including the motor vehicle repair trade. LEVY AND GRANT ARRANGEMENTS 6. The five Boards established in 1964 have all submitted their first grant and levy proposals, which the Minister has approved. Detailed information about the grant arrangements and the levies is available in the Boards' publications and in the levy orders respectively. The purpose of these notes is to draw attention to the main features of interest in the various schemes. 7. At the outset the Engineering Board made known its intention to bring about a substantial redistribution of the cost of training in the first grant-levy period, and the scheme which it has introduced will have this effect. The Board began by trying to estimate the present annual cost of training in the industry. A sample inquiry showed this to be about £75,000,000, which is the equivalent of about 21⁄2 percent of pay roll. The sample inquiry also showed, however, that firms would be unable to account for their training costs in the detailed form which would be necessary if they were to be reimbursed the expenditure which they had actually incurred in a past period. The Board has therefore decided that a firm's entitlement to grant will be based on a points system which will take into account the quality and amount of training carried out. The amount of training done will be related to the numbers of workers requiring training the firm employs, and the amount payable in grant will be expressed as a percentage of the amount which the firm pays in levy. The percentage may, and indeed in some cases will, exceed 100. Because of the large sums involved, the collection of levy and payment of grant will take place more or less simultaneously. 8. The Construction, Iron and Steel and Shipbuilding Boards have all decided to start on a more modest scale, by defining interim broad standards of training which meet with their approval; by making grants related to the cost of such training; and by raising levies sufficient in amount to cover the estimated cost of paying these grants. 9. Under the Construction Board's scheme, some grants will be fixed amounts and some will be based on expenditure actually incurred. Training at craft and higher levels will be taken into account, and great emphasis is placed on day or block release for associated further education. 10. As a general rule the grants paid by the Iron and Steel and Shipbuilding Boards will be based on expenditure actually incurred on defined items and will be confined to a limited range of occupations. It is of interest that, for grant purposes, the Shipbuilding Board will, as a general rule, recognise training carried out off-the-job and associated further education only. 11. In all the schemes to which reference has been made so far it is assumed that the rates of levy imposed will yield amounts sufficient to cover claims for grant and the Boards' administrative expenses, and to provide small reserves. If the Boards' estimates of the cost of their grant schemes prove to be wrong they may be left with more substantial reserves than they have budgeted for; or they may be obliged to borrow money to meet their commitments. The Wool Board, like the other Boards, was anxious to avoid this situation and a distinctive feature of its scheme is that the amount paid in grant is determined by the ratio between the total amounts raised in levy and the total amount claimed in grants by employers. Another distinctive feature of this scheme is that fixed amounts are payable in respect of employees trained or retrained in a given period, irrespective of the quality of training given. 12. The Wool Board's first collection of levy was made in July 1965 and from the sum raised it has been possible to pay grants equal to 65 percent of the amounts claimed in respect of the training period 1st October, 1964-31st March, 1965. At 24th August, 1965, approximately 96 percent of the first instalment of levy had been collected and claims for grant had been received from 787 out of a total of 1,846 establishments assessed to levy. Of the grants paid 343 were greater and 314 were less than the amounts collected in levy. Most of the firms which have failed to claim grants (about 43 percent of those assessed to levy) are small firms. 13. Generally speaking, the Boards' levy orders follow a uniform pattern. The Iron and Steel Board, however, has decided to base its levy on the number of employees, and not on pay roll as in the case of the other Boards; and the Shipbuilding Board will collect its first levy in one instalment, whereas the other Boards will make two collections. Appendix 1 is a timetable showing the sequence of the main levy and grant operations for each Board. 14. The levy income of Boards will be supplemented by grants from the Ministry given in the form which the Minister has announced (see Appendix 2). Grant towards first-year administrative expenses ceased to be payable to the Wool Board at the end of June and to the Construction, Engineering and the Iron and Steel Boards at the end of July, 1965. In the case of the Engineering Board, however, where the complex levy/grant system has required an exceptionally long time to plan and operate it has been agreed that the Ministry will meet the interest payments which the Board will have to make in borrowing money to meet its administrative expenses up to 31st March, 1966. The administrative grant which is being paid to the Shipbuilding Board will terminate at the end of November, 1965. 15. Consideration is now being given to the way in which the Ministry's grant in respect of additional off-the-job training places will be applied. APPEALS TRIBUNALS 16. Appeals tribunals have been established in accordance with the Industrial Tribunals (England and Wales) Regulations 1965 and the Industrial Tribunals (Scotland) Regulations 1965. The Regulations provide for the appointment of a lawyer of not less than seven years' standing to the office of President of the Industrial Tribunals. These appointments are made by the Lord Chancellor for England and Wales and by the Lord President of the Court of Session for Scotland. Sir Diarmaid Conroy, C.M.G., O.B.E., T.D., Q.C., who specialized in law and legal administrtion in Africa and Gibraltar from 1946 until early 1965, has been appointed as President, England and Wales; Mr. Robert Reid, Q.C., who is presently in general practice in Edinburgh, has been appointed as President, Scotland. 17. Each tribunal consists of a Chairman-either the President or someone selected by him from a panel of lawyers of not less than seven years standing appointed by the Lord Chancellor, or the Lord President as the case may be-and two other members. (Additional chairman have yet to be appointed for England and Wales; one chairman has been appointed in Scotland). The members are selected by the President, one each from the employers and employees' panels appointed by the Minister after consultation with the Confederation of British Employers, the Trades Union Congress and the Nationalised Industries, who were invited to submit nominations on a nationwide basis. 18. Central Offices of the Industrial Tribunals have been set up for the time being at 32/33, St. James' Square, London, S. W.1 and at 109, Waterloo Street, Glasgow, C.2. Both offices will shortly move to other accommodation. The Glasgow office handles appeals where the establishment to which the levy assessment relates is wholly in Scotland; all other appeals are proper to the London office. The Department has provided a Grade 3 Secretary of the Tribunals at each central office, and supporting staff. 19. Tribunal clerks will initially be supplied by the central offices irrespective of whether hearings are arranged in London, Glasgow or the provinces. It may later become necessary to ask R. O.s to provide tribunal clerks, particularly when the Redundancy Payments Act comes into operation. 20. The Central Offices started their active work with appeals against assessments to the levy made by the Wool Industry Training Board at the beginning of June. Some 2,000 establishments were considered to be in scope by the Board and the issue of assessment notices gave rise to 204 appeals in England (mainly Yorkshire) and 18 in Scotland. Of these 10 and 2 respectively were withdrawn at a very early stage. 21. Up to Mid-September 112 appeals had been listed for hearing in England and 12 in Scotland. Of the English appeals 26 were withdrawn shortly after the issue of Notice of Hearing but Rules of Procedure provide for such cases to be considered by the Tribunal and for the promulgation of a formal decision. The 26 assessments were confirmed and the appeals dismissed on abandonment. Of the remainder, 43 assessments were confirmed, 14 were rescinded, two were reduced, and it was agreed to postpone or adjourn 26 hearings until a later date owing to the incidence of local holidays. Of the Scottish appeals eight assessments were confirmed, one was reduced and one was rescinded; the balance is accounted for by one dismissal on abandonment and one adjournment. 22. Efforts have been made to hold the tribunal hearings in centres convenient for appellants. Thus the English hearings have been in Harrogate and the Scottish hearings in Inverness and Glasgow. Accommodation was arranged through Yorks and Humberside R.O. and Scottish HQ. respectively, in co-operation with the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, to comply with standards which have have been communicated to all R.O.s via Headquarters. The balance of the English Wool levy appeals were listed for hearing in the second half of September; in the main these were to be in Harrogate, but accommodation was arranged at Caxton Hall, Westminster, S.W.1, by HQ, for the hearing of 11 appeals from firms in the South of England. 23. The main conclusion to be drawn from the first appeals (which not unnaturally posed their fair share of problems) is that many firms either assumed that discretionary powers had been accorded to the tribunal or showed a lack of understanding of the relevant Statutory Orders. There was also a marked failure to adhere to the time limit within which appeals should be lodged. 24. The Iron and Steel Industry Training Beard issued assessment notices towards the end of June. Some 586 establishments were included in the Board's register; nine appeals were received from firms in England, and there was one in Scotland. Two of the English appeals were withdrawn on receipt of revised assessment notices; of the remainder, five have been listed for hearing in Harrogate and two in London during the second half of September. RESEARCH 25. Using its authority under Section 2(2) of the Employment and Training Act, 1948, the Department has taken over from the Science Research Council the responsibility for grant-aiding new research projects of an applied nature into industrial training problems. The grant-aiding of a project falling within the field of operations of a particular Board is a matter for the Board, but can attract a 50-percent grant from the Department. Research projects of a general nature or projects dealing with a subject proper to a Board which has yet to be set up are eligible for a grant of up to 100 percent from the Department. The Minister, in considering whether to award grants, is advised by the Research Committee of the Central Training Council on the merits of particular research projects whether proposed by training boards or otherwise. General TRAINING ARRANGEMENTS 26. The five Boards established last year have been mainly concerned so far with establishing themselves as working organisations and preparing their first grant and levy schemes. This latter exercise has involved some consideration of training standards but the result of this has been the endorsement, in general terms, of good existing practice rather than a searching inquiry into training requirements. These inquiries are now beginning. The Engineering Board, for example, has set up eight subcommittees to consider training standards for different groups of occupations and a Working Party to consider the first-year training of apprentices. The Board has decided, in principle, that the first year training of apprentices must be given off-the-job though it recognises that to give effect to this will take time. 27. The Wool Board has run courses for trainers and instructors; is arranging induction courses for new entrants; and has set up a central training school for burlers and menders in Bradford. Detailed training recommendations have been prepared for five categories of operative. 28. It is expected that the Boards will devote an increasing amount of time in the future to preparing recommendations in respect of various forms of training. In order to make recommendations it is necessary for Boards to have a comprehensive picture of the training position in their industries. A certain amount of useful information will be obtained from claims for grant submitted by employers, but it will be necessary to supplement this information through surveys and the collection of information from employers. Boards have made a start on this work. The information obtained from the Wool Board national questionnaire will be collated by the autumn of 1965 and the Iron and Steel Board's exercise to collect statistics on training and further education and manpower employed in the Industry, which was introduced in 1965, is likely to be repeated by the Board on a regular annual basis. The Shipbuilding Board is to issue a national questionnaire on manpower and training facilities in the autumn of 1965. 29. A "quantity" grant claim form has recently been issued by the Engineering Board and the Board will be issuing a "quality" grant claim form in the autumn. Both returns are due for completion by 15th December, 1965. 30. The Construction Board has commissioned the Industrial Training Service to carry out a survey of immediate training needs in the Industry and is awaiting a report by the Building Research Station on occupational skills. TRAINING OF TRAINING OFFICERS 31. In October, 1964, in order to increase as rapidly as possible the supply of training officers who have been given an introduction to the duties of such a post, the Department of Education and Science, in co-operation with this Ministry, invited Technical Colleges and Colleges of Advanced Technology with the necessary staff and facilities to consider putting on courses of training for training officers. Arrangements were made with the Scottish Education Department for the University of Strathclyde to offer a similar course. 32. To encourage employers to release staff to attend approved courses the Ministry undertook to pay to employers releasing staff a grant of 50 percent of the tuition fee. Since April, 1965, this direct grant has been paid only to employers not covered by Training Boards. A guide syllabus was circulated and colleges willing to participate in the scheme were invited to submit their syllabus and timetable for approval by this Department and the Department of Education and Science. Only full-time courses of from four to eight weeks were considered. It was suggested that courses should be devised on a sandwich basis, normally two periods of two weeks with a period of at least four weeks in the middle during which the student should return to his firm and carry out a project. 33. In January, 1965, arrangements were made for the activities of colleges considering the provisions of courses to be co-ordinated regionally. Nominated officers from R.Ô.s., the Regional Staff Inspectors of the Department of Education and Science and the Regional Staff of the Industrial Training Service were put in touch with each other and asked to discuss with colleges such matters as the content and presentation of courses, local demands, recruitment and publicity. 34. The Central Training Council considered the position in March, 1965, and agreed that the short intensive courses should be continued and regarded as a crash programme. 35. Unfortunately employers did not appreciate the need to release staff and a number of courses had to be cancelled for lack of support. The following did, however, run courses approved for grant during the 1964/65 academic year: Bristol College of Science and Technology (3 courses with a total of 45 Wolverhampton and Staffordshire College of Technology (15 students). Glamorgan College of Technology (9 students). 36. On 17th-18th June, 1965, a conference was held at the Bristol College of Science and Technology with representatives of Technical Colleges interested in running courses, together with representatives of the Industrial Training Boards, of industry and officers of this Ministry, the Department of Education and Science and the Scottish Education Department. The conference was particularly concerned to establish the training officer's function, the kind of training appropriate to a short intensive course and the provision of specialised follow-up courses to supplement the introductory course. 37. It was suggested that the form and content of the present courses was about right. It was also suggested that a central advisory committee to plan and control training officer courses should be set up, that consideration should be given to the establishment of a central college, and that the present short courses at Technical Colleges should be followed by periods of supervised practical training in industry. 38. On 16th September, 1965, the Central Training Council agreed to the appointment of a separate Committee to deal with the training of training officers. 39. A meeting of regional officers concerned with training officer matters was held at HQ. on 30th September. 40. The colleges listed in Appendix 3 are considering the provision of courses during the 1965/66 academic year. Courses marked "*" have already been approved for grant. The courses at Hendon and South Birmingham to be held in September and October 1965, respectively are already fully booked and the latter college will run a second course if there is sufficient demand. 41. Boards are aware of the need to encourage the training of training officers and their interim grant schemes make provision for financial assistance to be given in respect of this type of training. The Construction, Engineering and Wool Boards are confining their grants to college courses approved by the Ministry. These Boards will pay grants in respect of tuition fees and subsistence expenses and the Engineering and Wool Boards will also take into account travelling expenses and wages of trainees. The Iron and Steel and Shipbuilding Boards will pay grants in respect of college courses approved by the Ministry and other courses which the Boards approve. Grant will be based on tuition fees and subsistence in the case of the Shipbuilding Board and of tuition fees, subsistence, travelling expenses and wages of trainees in the case of the Iron and Steel Training Board. GRANTS FOR SANDWICH COURSES 42. Any firm which provides facilities for a student during the industrial parts of a sandwich course for certain technical qualifications will qualify for a grant from the Department. The object of these grants is to help to relieve the acute shortage of technicians and technologists over the whole employment field. The grants for sandwich courses are offered to employers in all industries, whether they are covered by training boards at present or not. There are two kinds of grants: (1) £40 for each of the first two six-monthly industrial periods of sandwich courses leading to a degree of a technological university or an award of the Council for National Academic Awards. (2) £30 for each of the two six months of industrial training forming part of a sandwich course leading to a Higher National Diploma. 43. Where the industrial part of the course lasts for 12 months, one payment of £80 or £60 as appropriate will be made. 44. Grants will be paid for courses started within the three academic years, from September, 1965 to August, 1968. Application for grants should be made after the relevant industrial training period has been completed. Any firm which provides facilities for the appropriate parts of such courses to a student, whether |