Mr. Paul O'Toole:

On behalf of SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority, I thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute to your review of skills and apprenticeship. I am joined by my colleague, Dr. Mary-Liz Trant, who is the SOLAS executive director with responsibility for skills development.

In the broadest sense, skills are an essential requirement for every person, and society as a whole, and are integral to success, both in economic and social terms. In the words of Angel Gurria, secretary general of OECD, "skills have become the global currency of the 21st century".

Skills formation of individuals happens in many ways; through personal experience and development, in the workplace and, of course, through education and training. In Ireland, the Department of Education and Skills leads on this aspect of skills formation in conjunction with the education bodies, such as the 16 education and training boards, and supported by its agencies, including SOLAS.

The role of SOLAS is to plan, co-ordinate and fund further education and training, FET, utilising the resources provided by the Department of Education and Skills. Provision is largely delivered by education and training boards and includes programmes such as apprenticeships, traineeships, post leaving certificate courses, literacy and numeracy programmes and community education.

The nature and aims of FET provision are guided by the action plan for education, the national skills strategy and other Government policies. The central ambition of the action plan for education is that Ireland’s education and training system will be the best in Europe within ten years and FET intends to make a full contribution to realising this goal. SOLAS is working in partnership with the public sector, employers and the community and social inclusion sector to deliver improved outcomes and experiences for FET learners across the spectrum of provision.

As referenced already, FET provision embraces a wide range of programmes that have been designed for many different types of learner and learning environment. Apprenticeship is one such programme and given the focus of this meeting of the committee, I will concentrate on this aspect of FET in the remainder of this opening statement.

Apprenticeship is defined as a programme of structured education and training which formally combines and alternates learning in the workplace with learning in an education and training centre. Apprenticeship is employer led, and every apprenticeship starts with a training employment contract with an employer. Apprenticeship registrations have made a welcome recovery in recent years, principally in the traditional craft apprenticeships. These numbers are expected to increase significantly; both in these existing craft apprenticeships and as the number of available apprenticeships expands through implementation of the Action Plan to Expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland 2016 to 2020, which was launched by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, in January this year. This plan sets out an ambition to register 31,000 new apprentices in the period 2016 to 2020. This would see an increase in annual registrations; from a low of 1,200 in 2010 to over 9,000 in 2020.

Achieving this increase will require strong collaboration between employers and the relevant State agencies, including SOLAS, the Higher Education Authority and Quality and Qualifications Ireland. Good progress is now being made with five new apprenticeships launched in recent months, a further 19 in development and a new public call for apprenticeship proposals being made earlier this month.

SOLAS has a number of responsibilities in respect of apprenticeships. As the statutory body for apprenticeship, we are responsible for enabling economic sectors to undertake apprenticeship programmes through the provision of statutory instruments termed industrial training orders; we are responsible for ensuring that employers meet the required conditions to recruit apprentices and for maintaining a register and supporting these apprentices. We achieve this through designated authorised officers in each of the 16 education and training boards; with regard to the existing 25 craft apprenticeship programmes, we are the co-ordinating provider. We work with employer bodies, trade unions, education and training providers and the Department of Education and Skills to ensure that these programmes remain up to date in terms of their curriculums and teaching methodologies.

With regard to new apprenticeships, we collaborate with the Department of Education and Skills, the apprenticeship council - to which we provide a secretariat - the Higher Education Authority and Quality and Qualifications Ireland in our shared responsibility to advance the introduction of new apprenticeships. We provide a range of supports to the consortiums of employer groups and providers who lead the individual new apprenticeships. All apprenticeship programmes are subject to validation by Quality and Qualifications Ireland.

Apprenticeship is one of the oldest and most durable forms of learning. Its essence, which is the skills formation of individual apprentices through their "master" or employer passing on their skills, is as relevant today as it has been over the centuries of apprenticeship systems around the world. The Irish apprenticeship system has demonstrated its worth for many decades, including, for example, through our continuing successful participation in the World Skills Competitions. Having come through a difficult period during the recent recession, this system is on a welcome upward trajectory, both in the existing craft apprenticeships and the new ones which have already been introduced or are in gestation.

SOLAS is confident the ambitious targets for apprenticeship are achievable through employer demand and commitment, with the necessary accompanying support and investment of Government and its associated State bodies.