Dr. Peter Rigney:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak to it about what will be an extremely important aspect of Irish industrial policy and the education system in the immediate future.

We fully support the implementation of the review of apprenticeship and look forward to working with employers and the State in this area. Ireland is one of several member states to receive a recommendation on apprenticeship under the country-specific recommendations issued recently as part of the European semester process. In fact, one is struck by how many other countries, as well as Ireland, have received a recommendation in this regard.

We are right to be proud of our success in this country in the area of designated trades. However, our track record in embedding work-based learning in our education system is less impressive. In the past two decades there have been two major reverses in this area. One was the disappearance of the CERT apprenticeship system, leading to a situation where employers in the hospitality sector are now complaining about a lack of skills. Second is the failure, following the apprenticeship reform of the early 1990s, to designate a significant number of additional trades. A prime candidate for a pilot scheme for the extension of apprenticeship is the child care sector, which is facing a crisis of standards at this time. The State exercises a predominant role in the sector through funding and regulation, a position which it can use to advance public policy in the apprenticeship area.

Moving towards some type of dual system will present challenges, especially in the area of funding. Having said that, the EU initiative on a youth guarantee and the new phase of European Social Fund allocations will allow more financial latitude than we might have thought possible. Another avenue of resourcing could be made available through an expanded national training fund. That fund was established by diverting an element of employers' PRSI contribution - 0.7%, if I recall correctly - to a dedicated fund. There is scope to divert a similar small percentage of employees' contribution to an enlarged fund that would support an expanded apprenticeship system.

It is important to note in any discussion of apprenticeship systems that governance is not an end in itself but must serve a purpose. Societies design governance systems which achieve a purpose such as deliberation, information sharing or providing feedback. There is ample evidence that the governance of vocational education and training systems works best when it is structured on a tripartite basis which focuses on ensuring the relevance of training offered and anchoring the training system to the enterprise stakeholders. These strong links are pointed to by Viktoria Kis as an advantage of the Irish system in her 2010 study undertaken for the OECD. Robust governance systems keep the courses offered close to the labour market and act as a check and balance on the power of providers.

If we look at the operational issues which affected - or, more accurately, afflicted - FÁS in the period prior to 2011, it is clear that many of them arose out of work done by private sector contract providers. Similar problems arose with Skillnets, where a major breach involving both FETAC and HETAC providers was uncovered in the audit process and detailed in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. One of the lessons to be drawn from this is that the light-touch model of regulation adopted by FETAC and HETAC proved inadequate to deal with the risks posed by a very small number of unscrupulous private providers. There is a strong argument, therefore, for the education and training institutions of the State to play the predominant role in providing the education and training element of any widened apprenticeship system.

Despite many efforts undertaken over the past two decades by State authorities, employers and unions, most apprenticeships remain strongly male dominated. This is partly due to the fact that the construction, engineering and vehicle maintenance industries are in themselves strongly male dominated. An obvious way of broadening the gender participation in apprenticeships would be to broaden the range of apprenticeships available. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that the most significant gender issue in the Irish education and training sector is the under-achievement of young boys. The apprenticeship system as currently structured goes some way to address this.

Entry requirements will vary from sector to sector. In the event of a broader range of occupations being designated, they will vary even further. There has been a suggestion, for instance, that some groups of employers would like to have level 8 degrees delivered in an apprenticeship format. The stakeholders in the sector will set the minimum entry requirements and it will be up to SOLAS to ensure these requirements meet the needs of the occupation concerned and are not disguised barriers to entry.

A more broadly-based system of apprenticeship would help to minimise dropout rates. It would also help to address the under-achievement of young men in the education system, which is a common phenomenon in Europe. Dr. Sean McDonagh, former principal of Dundalk IT, has pointed out that the country that finds a solution to this problem will derive a competitive advantage from it. In addition, a more broadly-based apprenticeship system would ensure an enhanced supply of intermediate-level skills for our economy and society.