asked the Secretary of State for Employment what conditions are applied to those eligible for the training opportunities scheme operations particularly in relation to period of residence in the United Kingdom; and whether any inquiries are made to establish whether applicants intend to seek jobs elsewhere than in the United Kingdom immediately on completion of their training programme.
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that there is no specific requirement for a period of residence in Great Britain from applicants for TOPS courses. But non-British EEC nationals may be considered for training under TOPS provided they are resident in Great Britain at the time of application, allocation and commencement of training and intend to seek employment in the training occupation in Great Britain or elsewhere in the EEC. Applications for training are not accepted from non-EEC nationals whose stay in Great Britain is subject to time and/or employment restrictions.All applicants for a TOPS course are required to sign an undertaking that they intend to work in Great Britain or another EEC country on completion of training. People born outside the EEC are required to produce their passports or police certificates of registration in order that the MSC may be satisfied that there are no restrictions that would prevent their being able to comply with their post-training employment undertaking.