asked the Minister for Labour if his attention has been drawn to a report (details supplied) that AnCO has suspended funding of a number of its external training programmes and if he will increase the funding to ensure that the courses will be restored.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - AnCO Training Programmes.
19.
In their main programmes in 1979 AnCO's external training division spent approximately £2.9 million. In 1980 AnCO plan to spend £3.1 million.
AnCO's external training division complements the work carried out in its training centres and the work of its training advisory service by providing a large, flexible training resource.
AnCO's external training operations must respond quickly to the changing needs of the economy in relation to changing skill requirements and to changing job opportunities. They must be able to respond quickly to industrial and commercial training requirements as indicated, for example, by the work of the Manpower Consultative Committee, AnCO's own industrial training committees and the IDA. Accordingly, new training programmes are brought on stream and existing courses continually reviewed. It is to be expected, therefore, that some training programmes will be developed and run once or, perhaps several times, and then phased out. Also a similar programme may be run by a different agency and in a different location.
AnCO's own direct training programmes, too, are regularly reviewed and altered as necessary.