Mr. Andrew Brownlee:

On behalf of SOLAS, I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak with members today and discuss the reform of the apprenticeship model. SOLAS has responsibility for funding, planning and co-ordinating further education and training in Ireland and is the statutory authority for apprenticeships. This means we have statutory responsibility for approving new areas of industrial activity for apprenticeship, approving employers, maintaining a register of apprentices, and making statutory rules for the conduct of apprentices.

SOLAS also has a role as the co-ordinating provider for craft apprenticeships.

While training is provided by a network of education and training boards, ETBs, institutes of technology, ITs, and technological universities, TUs, SOLAS remains responsible for developing and setting curricula, scheduling off-the-job training across the provider network, setting assessments and overall quality assurance of provision.

The apprenticeship system is underpinned by a strong partnership approach, with SOLAS playing a central role in its development and management alongside the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, the Higher Education Authority, HEA, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, education and training providers, employers and social partners. It is crucial in delivering the right and latest skills for employers and delivers a significant and positive impact on society and the economy.

At the start of this year, the apprenticeship population reached 20,000 for the first time. The female apprentice population has also grown substantially in recent years and now stands at 1,100, building on major efforts to increase participation and offer more diverse opportunities to enter an apprenticeship, although much more needs to be done to address barriers to entry. This was thanks to the opening up of apprenticeship following the publication of the most recent apprenticeship action plan. There are now 60 apprenticeship programmes to choose from, ranging from level 5 to level 10 on the national framework, serving industries as diverse as biopharma, ICT, recruitment, financial services, retail, hospitality, engineering and construction.

We have seen apprenticeship develop significantly as a viable career option for a much wider base of people. The Generation Apprenticeship campaign targets employers, parents, teachers, guidance counsellors and potential apprentices of all ages and backgrounds. We are also exploring how further education and training and apprenticeship options could be set out alongside higher education choices as part of the CAO decision-making process, which could be a real game changer in raising awareness of these great pathways that are available to everyone.

Over the past three years, important steps have been taken to ensure that apprenticeship is promoting and supporting green skills, with content developed and integrated into a number of core apprenticeship programmes. Centres of excellence in nearly-zero energy building, NZEB, are now established in the south east and midlands, with three further regional centres of excellence in development. New apprenticeships in the areas of arboriculture, geo-drilling, scaffolding, roofing and cladding have green skills technology and knowledge as components of the curriculum and approach. The Generation Apprenticeship schools competition has also had sustainability as its core theme over the last three years.

We believe the work of SOLAS and our partners has helped to support a world-class and rapidly expanding apprenticeship system, with the quality of our apprentices acknowledged on the global stage in Worldskills competitions. It provides an excellent foundation from which to further grow and diversify that system.

The new apprenticeship action plan, published last week, sets out an exciting new agenda for the development of the system over the next five years. It targets an increase in registrations to 10,000 per annum and aims to create a single integrated apprenticeship model. This includes further development and enhancement of the consortium-led approach, increased support for employers, including SMEs, support for targeted recruitment of under-represented groups and targets for the public sector to take on apprentices.

The plan also includes a commitment to establish a national apprenticeship office, to be jointly managed by SOLAS and the HEA. SOLAS will retain its statutory responsibilities with regard to apprenticeship but it is hoped that this joint office will provide apprenticeship with a distinct focus and identity, and reflect the fact that apprenticeships are now provided across both further and higher education. SOLAS looks forward to playing a lead role in this office and in the continuing management, development and oversight of apprenticeship in Ireland.

SOLAS will retain responsibility as co-ordinating provider for craft apprenticeships, although there is a commitment to move this provision to a devolved model of delivery over the lifetime of the plan. This will involve education and training providers taking on more of a lead role in this regard, building on their expertise in developing curricula, setting assessments and quality assuring provision. A migration plan will be developed in close partnership with all our key stakeholders involved in this process including industry, unions and the providers themselves.

While there is an exciting future for apprenticeship, of course, we must acknowledge the significant damage that Covid-19 has caused to provision over the last year. Our training centres and institutions, which provide off-the-job training, have been closed or operating at severely reduced capacity for nine of the past 12 months. The practical focus of apprenticeship means that most of this training has to take place on site and the restrictions have caused significant waiting lists to develop. The problems have also acted as a spur for innovation, however. We have seen apprenticeship training move online for the first time ever with theory elements of programmes delivered remotely. We have worked with providers and unions to phase back essential on-site provision via safe, socially distanced approaches.

Addressing the backlog will be a significant challenge but the recent announcements of €20 million in capital funding to expand capacity, the use of online and competency assessments to speed up the apprentice journey through training and working with providers and unions to agree flexible and overtime arrangements to facilitate provision outside of traditional training periods will all help to start to make inroads in the next few months.

I hope this provides a brief overview of the reform of the apprenticeship model and the current and evolving role that SOLAS plays in managing and developing the system. I thank the committee for its time and I look forward to further discussion on this matter.