Ms Mairéad Boland:

I thank the committee for inviting Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, to this meeting. QQI is the State agency that promotes the quality, integrity and reputation of Ireland’s further and higher education system. We are responsible for the external quality assurance of further and higher education provision in Ireland, although primary responsibility for quality assurance rests with the providers who deliver programmes of education and training. For apprenticeships, this is the co-ordinating provider, which works with employers and collaborating providers. QQI is also the national qualifications authority that oversees Ireland’s qualifications system. We advise on the quality assurance and qualifications dimensions of apprenticeship provision to support all entities that develop and provide such programmes.

We work with all stakeholders to maintain a trusted, sustainable and adaptable infrastructure for apprenticeships. We worked intensively with the National Apprenticeship Council to rethink and expand the apprenticeship model in order that new apprenticeships could be offered in diverse sectors in the context of levels 6 to 10 of the national framework of qualifications. This included producing statutory quality assurance guidelines for apprenticeships to inform the governance and quality assurance of a new industry-led consortium model of apprenticeship. The guidelines cover the governance, curriculums and assessment of apprenticeships, and supports for apprentices in on- and off-the-job settings. They also address the traditional craft apprenticeships for which SOLAS is the co-ordinating provider. The guidelines provide assurances necessary for new, untested types and areas of learning and training to ensure they are relevant, sustainable and of high quality. They have paved the way for higher education institutions to deliver apprenticeships in areas such as insurance practice, polymer processing, advanced quantity surveyor, lean sigma, social care and logistics.

In 2022, QQI reviewed the effectiveness and impact of consortia-led apprenticeships. The review highlighted the diversity of approaches to developing, managing and governing such programmes. This diversity is a strength, showing how the model is both flexible and adaptive to sectors and occupations. Since 2022, the range of apprenticeships has further expanded.

As mentioned, QQI also leads the development of Ireland’s qualifications system. We develop standards for QQI qualifications and certify learners who have completed programmes leading to QQI awards. We validate, or approve, apprenticeship programmes, the curriculums and assessments for which are developed and maintained by the co-ordinating providers and their partners. To give an idea of the breadth of innovation in this area, we have validated apprenticeships for international financial services and retail supervision, accounting technicians, butchers and commis chefs. Through our programme validation work, we approve apprenticeship programmes and support their quality, currency and integrity. Programme validation processes are underpinned by trust, built by providers through successive programme- and institution-level quality assurance processes. They provide assurance that education and training standards are met, training and learning aligns with employer needs and apprentices have the necessary supports to enable them to achieve qualifications.

The validation process, which is undertaken by independent experts on QQI’s behalf, takes time. Our work is demand led. To date, we have validated 25 new apprenticeships. In the period from 2022 to 2024, we managed between 15 and 30 distinct apprenticeship validation processes per year, of which seven were first-time applications. To put this in context, at any one time, we manage about 200 validation events. The average time from QQI’s formal acceptance of an application for a new apprenticeship to approval of that programme is about 16 weeks. We have streamlined and adapted our processes over time to ensure that they remain relevant and appropriate. Our validation work aims to ensure that providers regulated by QQI have the necessary structures and resources in place to maintain quality and uphold their primary responsibility for apprenticeship programmes. Validation is time limited. Providers are required to undertake a full-scale review of programmes and submit them for revalidation by QQI. Through our validation and monitoring, we capture information on the implementation of apprenticeships. We monitor providers and their delivery of programmes through annual reporting, provider-level reviews, dialogue meetings and through the investigation and review of matters of concern.

We work in partnership with other entities that have responsibility for system oversight, including the national apprenticeship office, the National Apprenticeship Alliance, the HEA, SOLAS and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. As such, we will continue to play our part in further developing the apprenticeship system. We expect that our role in this system will change as responsibility for the development, delivery and quality assurance of apprenticeship programmes continues to evolve. Our role will increasingly focus on the effectiveness of quality assurance and advising our partner stakeholders on the appropriate qualifications structures to accommodate change and innovation. We will continue to be a core partner in a national system that ensures the development of relevant, meaningful and current apprenticeship programmes.