Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

World Skills Ireland has warned that we need urgent investment in apprenticeship infrastructure if the Government is serious about addressing the chronic skills shortages in areas like construction.

Deputy Ó Laoghaire and I recently met representatives of MTU in Cork where we heard about its ambitious plans for apprenticeships. We also heard that it is teaching apprentices in old, dilapidated buildings and temporary accommodation. If the Government is serious about getting more apprentices, it needs to fund colleges like MTU to deliver them.

The Minister of State has probably heard me speak before about the need for a campus on the north side of Cork and the need for third level education on the north side. I fully believe our universities need to expand, which is why a purpose-built apprenticeship centre on Cork’s north side is needed. Many people from the north side are doing apprenticeships and many more are interested. It would be very beneficial to have a state-of-the-art facility to send a real message of confidence in communities and apprentices. Currently they are being housed on a college campus that is beyond capacity and not fit for purpose. We are short 27,000 workers to meet the Government’s housing targets and the only way to deliver this is by real investment in apprenticeships.

People cannot afford to live on nothing. They need proper wages. The average rent in Cork city is now over €1,500 a month. A first-year construction industry apprentice earns €246 a week. Is it any wonder that people are not going into apprenticeships? Who can afford to live on €246 a week? How is that sending a message that the Government values our apprentices?

When I was preparing for this debate, I thought of the years of austerity and the hundreds of thousands of people who emigrated, many of them construction workers. I have friends and family in Australia and America. Those people should have stayed here but left because of failed policies by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. Those parties now need to get the policies right.

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