Dr. Mary-Liz Trant:

On the bit about trying to get feedback from those who do not access employers, there is a regional skills fora network and we work very closely with guidance counsellors at second level. We are getting a certain amount of anecdotal information but it is a challenge to get a handle on that. The feedback we are getting is that mechanisms we have put in place, such as listings of employers by apprenticeship, are definitely helping. It is probably more the case that there are fewer employers. That is about growing the employer numbers.

On the target of 10,000 registrations, there is actually a target of 12,500 in the programme for Government beyond this year, which is great. We hit 9,352 registrations last year, so we are on target as long as the numbers keep growing. We are watching registrations for this year very closely. It is down slightly on the craft side, by about 4% on this time last year. What we are hearing back from around the national apprenticeship alliance table is that employers are watching. There are some big projects, and with the global circumstances, there is a little bit of an impact. We are going to watch that very closely. We are hopeful that we will hit that 10,000 mark. Funding is going to be a really important part of that.

The Deputy's point about the role of the authorised officers goes to the heart of the quality of the system. They have the ability to go into an employer's premises and talk to the apprentice and the employer. That is what they are legally enabled to do. We have about 80 of those personnel around the country but we probably need a lot more. There are 30,000 apprentices and close to 80 programmes with 10,000 employers. We need enough to be able to support that. It is very much part of the new quality assurance framework, examining that and ensuring we can be confident that the quality of the apprenticeship is consistent around the country.