Mr. Phil O'Flaherty:

I thank the committee for inviting representatives of the Department of Education and Skills here to talk about the review of apprenticeship training in Ireland. My name is Phil O'Flaherty and I lead the Department’s further education and training section. I am joined by Keith Moynes from our higher education policy section and Denis Rowan and Chris Feeney from SOLAS. Today’s session is timely, as the Minister published an implementation plan for the review’s recommendations just last week.

Significant reform is under way across our education and training system and much of this is focused on close engagement with employers to ensure we tailor our programmes to deliver the best work opportunities for learners and continue to develop the sector as an engine for economic growth. The renewal of the apprenticeship system is a major part of that overall reform programme. While the time is ripe for a review of the apprenticeship system, the committee should appreciate that apprenticeship has served learners, employers and the wider economy very well over a long number of years. It is a good product, producing highly skilled crafts people in demand throughout the world and competing strongly in the world skills competitions.

Dual training models offer enormous potential to produce practically focused, work-ready people serving the skill needs of the economy across a range of sectors. That said, apprenticeship currently has a narrow industrial base which exposes it strongly to the domestic economic cycle and lacks flexibility in its overall structure. The economic downturn exposed difficulties with the model and it has taken an enormous effort on behalf of a range of stakeholders, including SOLAS, to provide opportunities for redundant apprentices to complete their training. It was in this context that the apprenticeship review was undertaken.

The Minister launched the review of apprenticeship in May 2013. It was led by an independent group, chaired by Kevin Duffy, chair of the Labour Court. We have two members of that group here today, as both Peter Rigney and Tony Donohoe served on it, and they can probably give some insights into the group's thinking on the recommendations produced. The review group invited submissions and consulted widely in producing its report, which it delivered to the Minister in December 2013. The Minister published the report in January.

A summary of the detailed set of recommendations contained in the report is in the full presentation I provided, but I will highlight a couple of key points. While strongly calling for flexibility in structure and delivery, the review group adopted a view of apprenticeship as requiring to be sufficiently substantial in depth and duration to deliver skilled workers who can work competently and autonomously. It stated that apprenticeship programmes should no shorter than two years and that at least half of this time should be spent on the job. It saw the potential for apprenticeships to be delivered leading to awards from level 5 of the national framework of qualifications, NFQ, right up to level 10.

The review group recommended the completion of the curriculum review under way for existing trades, leading to individual awards for each trade placed separately on the NFQ and with duration determined by learning outcomes. The group recommended that governance of apprenticeship should be led by a new apprenticeship council, hosted by SOLAS but with strong co-operation from the Higher Education Authority. The council should also co-ordinate a call for proposals for the development of apprenticeships in new enterprise sectors.

The Minister published an implementation plan for the review recommendations on 30 June. The plan adopts a phased approach to implementation, recognising the need to progress current work on existing apprenticeships and determine demand from new enterprise sectors through a call for proposals before embedding new arrangements in legislation. This reflects the fact that an approach that begins with legislative change is likely to be slow, will not be enterprise-led in the first instance and will not best facilitate the flexibility required to explore and respond to issues that may be raised in the call for proposals from enterprise sectors.

The plan sets out how an apprenticeship council will be appointed this month and details a series of actions to renew existing apprenticeships and develop new ones. These actions will be delivered in three phases. Phase 1 will focus on existing apprenticeships being reviewed under the existing governance structures, while the apprenticeship council makes a call for proposals from employers and education and training providers for the development of new apprenticeships. This call will be supported by dedicated resources. The council will assess the proposals against a sustainability test and report to the Minister in the first half of next year on proposals which stand the best chance of being developed into quality sustainable apprenticeships.

Phase 2 involves the development of the apprenticeships in the successful sectors. This will require establishing awarding arrangements, the development of detailed curricula and implementation arrangements. This process is likely to take some time and vary across sectors, and will be complete from late 2015 into the first half of 2016. In parallel, legislative implications will be examined to support the expanded system and provide protection for apprentices.

Phase 3 involves the embedding of new structures, including establishing the apprenticeship council on a statutory basis and bringing together the governance arrangements for existing and new apprenticeships. This will provide a stable base for implementing the remaining key recommendations of the review group.

The Department is confident that we now have a good basis for renewing apprenticeship in Ireland as a strong model of learning in further and higher education and training. We look forward to today’s discussion with the committee and the other contributors.