Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy. The people we are trying to convince do not watch Oireachtas TV. They are on TikTok and Instagram. Thankfully, we have good, young influencers, such as Building Heroes, who have a massive following on Instagram and are encouraging young women to go into apprenticeships and the crafts. We need more of that because not only are influencers telling people about the amounts of money they are making when they finish but they are also telling them about their work-life balance, career progression and sense of job satisfaction. These are all things you do not get from a book.

To be fair, career guidance teachers are pulled and dragged all over the place in some respects. The WorldSkills event was a huge eye-opener for me with regard to the type and varied nature of employment available to school leavers who choose not to take the traditional route of going to university.

The Deputy is right. Up until recently, some young people felt that if they did not go to university, they would be asked why they did not go and what they had been doing since. That is why I am open to a conversation on this matter. The name might or might not be key to it. Certainly, if a lot of the mothers and fathers of Ireland knew what their sons and daughters could earn when it comes to the crafts, they might look at them a bit differently.