Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to address the Minister of State in regard to apprenticeships. As a former lecturer at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, now the Atlantic Technological University, I have seen in my work in the private sector how apprenticeship courses, and apprenticeships as a facet of construction alone, are a vital component. Unfortunately, in the boom times, the apprenticeship ethic fell by the wayside. People were more inclined to work to make money without getting the formal qualifications required, and when the boom ended, we found many workers did not have the necessary qualifications. Coupled with that, many parents did not consider an apprenticeship a way forward for their children. Most parents aspire to the highest level of education for their children and may have thought that would always be in third level rather than in an apprenticeship, but that is far from the case.

I welcome the fact the Government has expanded the number of apprenticeships and the areas in which they are and will be available. That opens the vista for young men and women to become qualified in a given skill and create a great career. There are certain steps we need to take to ensure apprenticeships as a career choice for young people will be well and truly highlighted in secondary schools throughout the country in order that students and parents will be aware of their benefits.

Employers have a role to play. They must look to the future of their industries, whether it is hotels, construction or IT. They must ensure they have people coming into the business at all times. What is happening in the construction industry is a manifestation of the fact apprenticeships did not happen in the past ten to 15 years and we do not have the skilled workforce at the moment. I am sure we will get on top of it again.

I also believe State agencies have a role. The local authorities need to have apprenticeship schemes. They can play a large role in that. In my own town, when the sugar factory was there, the authority had apprenticeships for fitters and all those types of things. That lent people the skills, which they subsequently developed, and they are now in business themselves as a result.

There is an area that has been missed out. Going back to my time as a lecturer, it is important when somebody wants to do an apprenticeship and then wants to go on to get further education that the apprenticeship course is tailored to suit the programme in the technological university so he or she can progress rather than having to go back to year 1 when he or she starts there. This ensures the person is progressing. Maybe he or she could hop into the final year so the course the person does as an apprentice is compatible with what he or she would be doing if he or she went into third level education.

We also need to ensure the apprenticeship is focused and the apprentice has a certain amount of income. The level of income should be increased, especially in the first year of an apprenticeship. It is very important because we want to attract people into apprenticeships and not for the sake of it. I have seen how good apprenticeships have brought people to being project managers, construction managers and owners of their own companies. That potential is there for us and I compliment the Government on bringing forward the initiatives. We need to continue to do that.

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