Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. Mr. Nolan spoke about the dropout rate in the UK under the new model of apprenticeships. There was a lack of investment, many of the courses were slow and there was a long line for training. I understand why that was not hugely appealing to people. I am looking over at Mr. Friel and I can see why it would not be hugely appealing to students. While there are concerns, I hope we can take the lessons from that in trying to combine the two systems here.

I want to ask about integrating the systems. This is essential to making the whole area more attractive so people apply for and consider apprenticeship. What are the priorities of the witnesses in the integration of the systems? From their perspective, what are the good things about the consortium system and the craft system that we should try to capture to create a better system overall?