Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for their presentations. Reference was made to models of apprenticeship which have worked very well in other countries, particularly Denmark and Germany. Will the witnesses outline the elements that make those systems work so well but which might not work in this country? In the case of the German model, my understanding is that students separate into streams at age 16, one being more academic and the other a more vocational route. Currently and historically, Germany has had a very low percentage of students going on to higher education compared with other countries, presumably because of the significant numbers opting for the vocational route. It is a system that seems to work well for that country. Any additional information the delegates can give on the German system and which parts of it are not transferable to Ireland would be helpful. I understand some of it is cultural, with German companies having very much bought into the system. Will the delegates comment on the cultural position in respect of companies in the Irish market, including the various American companies which provide employment in different sectors such as pharmaceutical and information technology? Is there scope for developing apprenticeships that can feed into those sectors?

What is the situation in terms of the age profile of young people going into apprenticeships in this country? Is there a need to develop a greater connection between our second level education system and the apprenticeship system? For example, if the two were running in parallel and there was a greater crossover, students would not be obliged to leave the education system early. Mr. Donohoe mentioned that there has historically been more engagement with industry at higher education level in terms of developing pathways than there has been at further education level. Will he give his take on the dynamic behind that and how it might be addressed?