Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, for facilitating this important debate on apprenticeships and the absorption of the apprentice programme into the new Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Apprenticeships have given lifelong careers to Irish people working around the world. The creation of these vital skills is crucial to the further development and growth of nearly every sector of Irish society.

Apprenticeships have long been the tradition of trainees and individual employers, but this has changed in recent times. Apprentices now receive a broader training in a particular sector, making them more mobile and flexible in their career choices. The pandemic disrupted a lot of apprenticeship programmes. I hope these have all been restored. Perhaps the Minister of State will be in a position to confirm this to the House when he closes the debate.

We need to set new targets for future skill needs in five, ten and 15 years. These should be negotiated with different sectors so we do not have the skills shortage we are experiencing at the moment in certain sectors. Many new skills are needed, an example of which is retrofitting. Very few people had even heard about retrofitting ten years ago but it will be a vital element if we are to achieve our climate change targets.

I welcome today's announcement by the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, on the creation of a new apprenticeship programme in transport operations and commercial driving. I am very familiar with the opportunities that apprenticeships offer in the aviation industry, especially in the Shannon region. Some of these people are now working in all corners of the world. We should encourage a link-up of the apprenticeship programmes in the different sectors to the new technological universities. This would benefit the apprentices and the colleges. It would give the former an internationally recognised qualification, which could lead to further education and training following the completion of the formal apprenticeship.

I note the success of the national apprenticeship of the year awards, which display the skills and excellence of our apprentices. We should encourage our apprentices to participate in and host the European and world championships. I wish the Minister and the Minister of State every success in developing these new exciting opportunities for young trainees.

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