Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and perhaps I will come forward with some ideas for incentivisation as this needs to happen and we need to broaden our horizons as a nation. We must get companies used to this, as apprenticeships are traditionally viewed as something that happen in the construction sector. That is important and there are issues there as well but there is potential for this process if it is rolled out in a proper way and the mindset can be changed. If companies are on board with the new categories of apprenticeships, there can be change, although there may need to be some effort to persuade companies to take on apprentices in certain cases. There could be some kind of incentive scheme.

I think some sort of incentive scheme should be put in place to incentivise and encourage companies to get involved. It does not necessarily have to cost money and I am not asking for money to be put aside for it. There could be an advertising campaign to try to highlight what is going on. I do not think the apprenticeship idea has seeped into the public imagination yet. The Government has an obligation to make sure that happens.

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