SC wants Board
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TUTORY TRAINING arrangements should be retained for the age industry, according to the Manpower Services Commis, but it is in favour of a separate haulage industry board being blished.
its long-awaited sector reof industrial and commertraining, the MSC's training ices division has recomded that something like the B be retained for haulage, though the new Education Training Act gives Employt Secretary James Prior er to abolish boards which no longer considered neces has recommended that mo. security companies and the
onal Coal Board's own act lorry fleet be excluded -n statutory requirements, that the British Association temovers be given a chance ievise voluntary training ar3ements for its members, thile it accepts there is an _anent in favour of retaining ingle RTITB, largely on the _Inds of scale economies, the 2 believes there is more to be I for separating the motor icle retail and repair sector n the haulage sector which e little in common.
ie MOTEC at High Ercall is red mainly to the needs of repair and retail trade, while ngston concentrates on ope
rative and driver training, while only eight of the haulage group training associations offer apprentice training, and no motor trade groups offer haulage training.
This view is in line with the submission provided by the Road Haulage Association (CM April 11), but the MSC has rejected the RHA's and RTITB's suggestion that the haulage board's scope be extended to cover own account operators.
"We do not consider this idea to be practicable," it said, and pointed out that, if it covered 1.8m, rather than 0.8m employees, the already criticised bureaucracy would only become a greater problem. The RHA argued that the bureaucracy could in fact be reduced if levy were collected along with Operator licence fees.
Operators may also draw comfort from the MSC's appeal that the Government delay for at least three years the Education and Training Act's powers to transfer all ITB costs on to industry.
MSC said that, whatever the justification for doing this, now is not the time to add to industry's financial commitments.
RHA training executive Len Harper told CM this week that the report will be considered by the Association's education and training committee later this month, and it will be viewed in the context of the publication last May of the MSC's New Training Initiative.
It identified a need to develop the scope of skill training for young people, to expand training for under-18s and to increase the availability of training schemes to adults. Mr Harper said that the two documents are inseparable.
While the report will, doubtless help Mr Prior to reach a decision on the future of road transport training, the new Act empowers him to wind up boards without reference to the MSC.