Ms Meadhbh Costello:

I will start with consortia employers and the definition. Currently in Ireland, we have two separate apprenticeship models, one being craft, which is mainly associated with construction area occupations. It has been in operation for many decades. In 2016, we launched a new style of apprenticeship which expanded it into areas like IT and retail. That is the area we focus on. It is a bottom-up approach to developing apprenticeships.

On the point about the need for further funding for employers, IBEC, all employer groups and all employers are looking to increase the incentive employers receive under the consortia model. Currently, they receive a €2,000 incentive, which is welcome. It was part of the current action plan but does not go far enough to cover the costs of leaving an apprenticeship to go towards off-the-job training. This is particularly the case in many workplaces where there might be an apprentice who is on off-the-job training for two days a week and the employer still pays the apprentice during that period. They also have to consider issues such as backfill, mentorship and everything else that might be associated with taking on an apprentice. We would like to see an increase in that incentive. It could be targeted towards SMEs-----