Mr. Luke O'Keefe:

I thank the committee for invitation. My skill is building information modelling, BIM. Mr. Ryan Dempsey and I were a team in Russia, where we had to make 3D models of buildings. It is an architectural skill. We went to college. I did not undertake an apprenticeship from the outset, mainly because it was not encouraged in secondary school. I always loved woodwork and making stuff with my hands. I always wanted to go down the apprenticeship road but I was discouraged by school and a little by my parents, as if one should not do that. One should go to college, get a degree and then get a job. Finally in college I found something I enjoyed, that is, architecture. It is still pertains to apprenticeships in some ways.

The experience in Russia was unreal. The scale of everything there is immense. If it was not for Ireland Skills Live last year, half of the team would not have done as well as they did this year. Ireland Skills Live brought everyone under one roof. We competed and saw some of the scale we would see in Russia. Without that we would have struggled. We would have been caught in the limelight as there was so much going on around us. Ireland Skills Live got us in the right mindset. We knew what we were expecting when we went over there. The Government should focus on that event, because it helps students. Other colleges and secondary schools are invited to Ireland Skills Live to see apprentices and apprenticeships and meet the best people working in those areas.