3oard average >alary £5,697
Page 29
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
READ with interest Mr Burke's tter in Commercial Motor for uly 11. The Board, of course, relcomes the fullest possible ebate at the present time on )e future of industrial training this country. It has always een responsive to constructive iticism, but it is important that
le basic facts are correct. Un)1nately, Mr Burke appears to
a isunderstood the audited which appear in the last annual report. In this deyour readers might find it ful to have the corrected res.
The total income of the Board s £37.178 million, not 36.896 million, Total grants aid to the industry was 29.16m not £25,6m. In addi on, the Board used £1.33m on 3pital to provide training facilies for the industry. Further lore, the Board used only 7.113m for its operations, not 11.296m.
Of the £7.113m, £2.179m as used to provide direct • aining services for the inustry, such as skills testing and 10TECs. A further £3.833m rovided for professional aining advisory services. Thus nly £1.101m was spent on dministration — less than 3 per ant of the Board's total income.
Mr Burke quotes an average 3Iary for Board staff of £6,982.
fact, he is using a figure fhich includes related costs of mployment. The actual
verage salary was £.5,697, ery little different to the
verage for the country as a /hole. However, a comparison Jch as Mr Burke makes with his wn company is highly mis ading. Over 70 per cent of the oard staff are at a professional vel, to give the industry the prt of advice and assistance it
aquires. It does not employ pprentices and unskilled )anual staff such as the average -iotor trader like Mr Burke's ompany.
Finally, it must be said that far from the Board reducing grants to the industry for apprentices, it intends, despite the cessation of government money for the purpose, to use its reserves to increase apprentice grants in 1980 to encourage greater recruitment, both to meet the industry's long-term needs and to rising unemployment for young people.
E. A. REFFOLD Southend divisional controller Road Transport Industry Training Board Wembley, Middx