Dr. Mary-Liz Trant:

There is a specific plan on increasing the number of apprenticeships and apprentices going through the public service, including the local authorities. There is a target of 750 registrations annually. It is probably fair to say progress is not as fast as we would have hoped but there is a very big drive on it now and a focus from the Department of public expenditure and reform, the Department of education and right across the key Departments to make sure this happens. There is a growth starting. We have nearly 80 apprenticeship programmes. There is a huge amount on offer. Another 28 are in the pipeline and then we have 42 more potentials at consultation stage. There is scope for all kinds of skills development, and they are all based on priority need. I do not think there is any shortage of options but it is about starting to build back up. There used to be a lot of skills development through apprenticeship through the local authorities and the public service bodies and that needs to be built up again. However, there is a plan and there will be a focus, and I expect----