Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept that the Deputy's comments are totally genuine. I think most people are supportive of what we are trying to do here. The Deputy is right. The new design and the new model will cater for that. It will make sure not only that people can build long-term careers on top of their apprenticeship qualifications, but also that much more is covered by the qualifications in the first instance. The costs should not be an issue. It should be possible to cater for numeracy and literacy issues and set the curriculums around the new proposals within the existing budget. We are within that budget at the moment. We are not yet sure of what the cost of the subsequent enterprise engagement will be. It is more than likely that such costs will not come in until towards the end of next year or early in 2016. This system is designed to ensure the other core parts of the education of these people are dealt with through the existing budgets, which are quite sustainable. As the Deputy knows, the budget in this area has been protected. Indeed, there has been a slight increase. It is an area we are focussing on. The idea is that people will not be caught out in the future by virtue of the timing of their skills. It is about having skills that are transferable. The Deputy will agree that the number of apprentices in this country is far too low. I hope this initiative will lead to an increase. I stress that we must see industry involvement here. I think the Deputy will agree with me in this regard. Companies in various sectors are telling us on a weekly basis that they need skills for the future and that they need help. There has to be engagement. Apprenticeships all over the world are based on enterprise engagement. There is a collaboration between education and enterprise. Enterprise must step up in this case.

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