Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 9 October 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

Apprenticeships: Discussion (Resumed)

2:00 am

Mr. Ben Friel:

We see it all over the place. It can be seen when people first go to choose a career, and as Mr. O'Mahony was saying, careers advisers do not see it as a viable option. We can see it when we are talking to parents who did not grow up with it as an equal opportunity. When people are hiring, it is sometimes seen as a benefit because people have training and real world experience, but when it comes to social settings, whether in a classroom or in families, that is where we would see it present itself.