Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister, Deputy Harris, for visiting a number of schools in my area in Dún Laoghaire this year to describe to them the new apprenticeship model that is an alternative to going to university, which seemed like the only option for many. The feedback from students, parents and teachers on these visits was excellent. They were a direct way of showcasing the work of the Department and what it is trying to do to open up third level and higher education to many people who had not considered it, or had not had the full range of options available presented to them. The Department is also working to extend those options and create more and more suitable options for people to give them the opportunity to train in different ways.

It is perfectly obvious that the university only, or university first, model is not right for everyone and has never been. The Department has acknowledged that and stopped pretending that is the dominant model. It is outdated. We have to reflect everybody’s different skills, abilities and preferences and provide different options for people who want to train or retrain at any stage in their lives. The steps taken by the Department with apprenticeship programmes are positive and provide different structures for people of all education levels, skills, stages of life and forms of training to date to develop deeper skills with training or retraining opportunities. It is important for younger people, as we celebrate diversity more and more, that there are so many types of diversity in this regard. Academic and training diversity is important. We cannot simply streamline young people in the way we did through the old CAO process. There is a very real potential of losing out on everybody’s ability and their diversity of skills and training by failing to provide for the different skills they may have.

The new apprenticeship model is a key part of positioning the country for the skills it needs over the next number of years. It is clear that the Housing for All plan requires a huge increase in specialised workers, plumbers, carpenters and engineers to take part in building and retrofitting homes. We have the same challenge with the climate and the green economy. There is an opportunity, through the apprenticeship model, to address many of those skills gaps and provide retraining opportunities. I am delighted to see a specific scheme in place to incentivise employers to take on apprentices, with over 5,000 employers applying to the scheme, which will inevitably benefit more than 7,000 apprentices.

In particular, I commend the Department on its reference to, and inclusion of, the Traveller community. I am heartened to see a reference to Travellers in the action plan, and I commend the Department on its engagement with Pavee Point, which persistently highlighted the barriers Travellers face in accessing apprenticeships. These barriers are also faced by other socioeconomically disadvantaged groups but are particularly commonly experienced by Travellers. They include issues of generational unemployment, lack of education and access to apprenticeships. I commend the Department on setting aside a certain number of apprenticeships specifically for the Traveller community. That was a key request of Pavee Point and I am glad to see the Department recognise that. Only 13% of female Travellers complete second level education and only 57% complete primary education. As Pavee Point has consistently highlighted, the practical apprenticeship model is a key part of the education and opportunity programme it believes is important to provide equality of opportunity for people from the Traveller community. I hope that, as the programme continues, there will be oversight to make sure those opportunities are being realised and provided and are not closed out in any way by employers.

I also acknowledge the Department’s work with regard to gender. Only 5% of the apprenticeship population is female. I welcome the acknowledgement of that because the apprenticeship model is suitable for everybody. Targeting girls and young women for apprenticeships is a measure of employment activation and will provide retraining opportunities for so many of them at different stages in their careers.

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