Ms Bridget Kelly:

Following on about the employers, we have some public sector employers involved, but we need local employers too. We have done much work to reach out to local employers. The National Apprenticeship Service has a list of all the registered employers which take on apprentices. We have done much work in that area, reaching out to local employers. They do not seem to be open and some do not want to meet with us. You might get the meeting but you do not get the second meeting. More intervention is needed here. It should not be just left to us in the programme. Government intervention and a national campaign is needed, but we need buy-in from all the trade unions and IBEC too.