Vol. 413 No. 5
187 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Education if he will outline his Department's guidelines, if any, to schools operating vocational training schemes; if he has satisfied himself that no exploitation is taking place by unscrupulous employers; and if he will make it mandatory on employers to pay a nominal sum to cover the cost of transport and lunch for trainees.
An information pack is available for schools providing the vocational preparation and training programme. This includes guidelines on the overall aims and objectives of the programme, programme structure, outline syllabi for a range of vocational modules, and approaches in organising work experience placements. The latter deals with the duration of the placement, parental consent, insurance issues, briefing for employers on the aims of the programme, follow-up of trainees during placement, and feedback afterwards from employers and trainees.
The success of the vocational preparation training programme relies heavily on the co-operation of employers to ensure that placement opportunities are provided for trainees which will provide a useful learning experience in preparing them for the world of work. I have had no complaints to date of exploitation by employers and survey feedback indicates that the majority of participants sampled regard the work experience placement as a very important and beneficial part of the programme. I have no plans to make it mandatory on employers to pay towards the cost of transport and lunch for trainees.
