asked the Minister for Labour what progress is being made towards extending the scope of vacancies notified to and filled through employment exchanges; the steps being taken to encourage employers to use the exchanges; and the number of vacancies (a) notified to and (b) filled through employment exchanges in each of the last five years.
Written Answers. - Employment Exchanges.
124.
As I already announced when introducing the Estimate for my Department, it is proposed that placement work will be separate from the benefit-paying work of the employment exchanges. Placement will in future be the responsibility of the new national manpower service and will be carried out by specially selected staff. Initially the new service will be in operation mainly in the larger centres of population and it will be gradually extended over the whole country.
New offices are being sought for the service and arrangements are well advanced for the holding of an open competition to recruit the staff. The new service will be in constant contact with employers with a view to helping them regarding their manpower needs and it is hoped that in this way employers will be encouraged to use the service.
The number of vacancies notified at and filled through employment exchanges in each of the last five years is as follows:—
|
Year |
Total Vacancies |
|
|
Notified |
Filled |
|
|
1965 |
30,391 |
28,590 |
|
1966 |
22,675 |
21,532 |
|
1967 |
21,493 |
19,912 |
|
1968 |
19,479 |
17,368 |
|
1969 |
18,361 |
16,670 |
The drop in the total number of vacancies notified and filled is accounted for by decreases in the number of compulsory notifications. These notifications are in respect of jobs on schemes which are financed wholly or partly from Central Funds.