Dr. Patricia Mulcahy:

We touched on this topic a little earlier. We talked about the traditional craft apprentices, and we also talked about the new apprentices. Certainly in respect of craft apprentices, my institution and, I am sure, all the others feel very well supported. We are currently facing challenges because of the nature of the craft apprenticeship programmes and the off-campus circumstances associated with Covid but we are seeing a very significant increase in craft apprenticeships across a number of areas. In my institution, the number is up by 50% in respect of electrical instrumentation. There are similar increases sector-wide in areas in which we are not necessarily involved but in which others are. I am aware, however, that there is a great deficit. All the institutes are examining it with the HEA to identify short-term and longer-term strategies to address it across the traditional areas. That will require investment. The big bottleneck concerns the actual building rather than the equipment, which has been extremely well supported. It is a matter of the infrastructure itself.

On the public private partnership projects that were talked about, six of the 11 went to tender recently and the next five are due to go to tender. That is right across the country. While they might not all be focused on apprentices, the decanting and the knock-on effect could very well free up space elsewhere to help. That is really important.

We talked about new apprenticeship programmes. These pertain to the computer and ICT, medical technology, insurance, finance, accountancy, logistics and hospitality sectors. In my institution, there is a new apprenticeship programme in geodrilling, for example. There is a lot of movement and focus in this area, but a lot more effort needs to be put in.