Mr. Rory O'Connor:

I will just add to what Ms Tiernan has said. It was called the apprentice school when I joined in 1982 and it then changed the technical training school. We have moved away from that completely. The award is under the basis of the EASA licences. The school is approved through the Irish Aviation Authority and the certification is for EASA part-66 and part-147. The trainees get the civilian qualification, if one wants to look at it from that point of view, and, as Ms Tiernan mentioned, the TUD level 7. We are shifting our whole maintenance piece towards the European military ordnance requirements programme as well. This aligns with that European standard, no more than the civilian qualification is tied in with the EASA regulations as well.

We have a very active social media programme. When we come to launch the competition, there will be extensive engagement from strategic HR, the Defence Forces recruitment body. There is also very much a media campaign in relation to that.

The students still go through the four-year training but it has changed from the apprenticeship model. The TMAST was the transition piece but now the AMT, as Ms Tiernan said, is the way we are going to go because that is the programme that best suits our needs and requirements for the future.