Mr. Andrew Brownlee:

On behalf of SOLAS, I thank the Chairman and members for the opportunity to discuss issues relating to the future funding model for higher education, including the development of apprenticeships. SOLAS has responsibility for funding, planning and co-ordinating further education and training, FET. Through the education and training boards and other providers, the FET system offers access to a wide range of learning opportunities and supports in every corner of the country, regardless of learners' background or formal education level, and a learning pathway to take them as far as they want to go. It currently serves a base of approximately 200,000 unique learners every year. SOLAS also has statutory responsibility for oversight of the national apprenticeship system and serves as the co-ordinating provider for craft apprenticeship in Ireland. We are currently working with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the HEA to establish a jointly managed national apprenticeship office.

The issue of future funding for higher education cannot be separated from that of support for FET and apprenticeship. The current situation is that more than 70% of school leavers choose to enter higher education directly as their future pathway. Although the high levels of higher education participation serve as an attribute that enhances Ireland’s global reputation, there is now a case for a more balanced tertiary system with an enhanced role for further education and apprenticeships, in line with most other international systems.

Transforming Learning, the future FET strategy, sets out a clear roadmap for development of the system and centres on the three core pillars of building skills, fostering inclusion and creating pathways. In addition, the strategy includes a core group of enabling themes to support and underpin the vision and strategic targets for the future FET agenda. The strategy has the capacity to enhance and transform what is already an exciting system, supporting 200,000 learners on an annual basis, primarily through the network of 16 education and training boards, ETBs. Within the pathways pillar, it seeks to increase the contribution of FET by building greater links between school and FET, within FET, and from FET to higher education.

One of the big early priorities was to make school leavers more aware of further education and apprenticeship options alongside higher education choices at CAO decision time. This year, for the first time, a link on the CAO website allowed school leavers to explore all the potential pathways. To date, approximately 35,000 people linked to either apprenticeship or further education and training information as a result of visiting the CAO website and we hope that will lead to increased demand for these options.

It should not be seen as an either-or scenario when it comes to FET and higher education as there is potential to build on strong links between the two systems to establish more consistent pathways and explore co-development and co-delivery of programmes by FET and higher education providers. Indeed, there is evidence that, for a cohort of school leavers, having the foundation of a FET experience prior to entering higher education significantly increases their chances of completing their degree.

In apprenticeship, there have been encouraging signs in 2021 of increased interest in the 25 craft and 37 newer apprenticeship opportunities. There were more than 8,600 new registrations during the year, with an overall apprenticeship population of 24,212 in December, far outstripping pre-pandemic levels in 2019. That is an encouraging sign in the context of seeking to meet the national apprenticeship action plan target of 10,000 per annum in 2022.

Of course, the pandemic had a significant impact on craft apprenticeship provision, with higher education and FET facilities closed for nine of the first 15 months and the system only able to return to full capacity from September 2021.

This created a significant waiting list at the end of the summer but an emergency action plan has been put in place, with 7,000 apprentices already back in off-the-job training and the vast majority scheduled to be back by the end of this year. The emergency plan included a blended delivery model which allowed us to move to three intakes per year rather than two for phase 2 apprentices, capital investment and more instructors to expand capacity across phases 2, 4 and 6 and a fast-tracking of the phase 7 qualification period. Continuing to expand capacity remains a critical priority for SOLAS, not only to ensure that new registrants are able to access off-the-job training in a timely manner, but also to ensure that capacity exists to meet the significant national challenges around Housing for All and climate action.

It is also important that funding remains available across both FET and higher education, HE, to develop new ideas for apprenticeships. While the apprenticeship system has developed significantly since the first action plan was launched, there is scope for more higher education institutions, HEIs, to become involved in development of programmes. There also still exists major untapped potential in developing further apprenticeship programmes across FET.

I hope this provides a brief overview of the issues with regard to the higher education funding model that are relevant to further education and training and apprenticeships. I thank the committee for its time and I look forward to further discussion on this matter.