Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The positive news is that this year there has been an increase of 80% in the number of women in apprenticeships, albeit from a low base. Whenever I meet young women, in schools or elsewhere, I promote apprenticeship as a new stream. I set a realistic objective of 20% of young people being able to access apprenticeships or traineeships, so that we will have a strong and resilient alternative to going into higher education. It is important to win employers over to such a programme and we have a grant to support employers in the traditional trades who take on women. We will promote this grant as we rebrand apprenticeships. There is a growing demand in both traditional apprenticeships and new ones.

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