John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has a keen interest in apprenticeships. The programme for Government commits to providing 31,000 apprenticeship places by 2020, and the Action Plan for Education states that we will enrol 50,000 people on apprenticeship and traineeship programmes in the period to 2020. This represents more than a doubling of the 2016 activity.

The Apprenticeship Council is overseeing the expansion of the apprenticeship system into a range of new sectors of the economy. Following its first call for proposals in 2015, the council has been working closely with consortia to develop their proposals into sustainable apprenticeships. Last year, we saw the first of these new programmes with the insurance practitioner apprenticeship, which launched in September, and the industrial electrical engineer apprenticeship, which will get under way in November. Three further new programmes are registering apprentices and will commence in May and June of this year, two in the medical devices area and one in polymer processing. A further ten programmes are expected to get under way later this year in various sectors, including hospitality, financial services and accountancy.

As well as developments in new apprenticeships, registrations in the craft trades are increasing as the employment and economic situation improves. In 2016, there were 3,742 registrations, representing a significant recovery since the crash. The upward trend continues this year, with registrations at the end of April of 1,585, which is almost double the corresponding period in 2014. Registrations in the craft trades are predicted to grow to 5,587 over the period to 2020.

In January, we published the Action Plan to Expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland which sets out a series of detailed actions and annual targets on how the commitments set out in the programme for Government and the Action Plan for Education will be met.

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The plan sets out a clear ten-step critical path for the development of an apprenticeship and an overall timeline of 12 to 15 months. One of the key commitments for this year was the issuing of a second call for proposals to refresh the pipeline of proposals already established through the first call. The second call issued earlier this month, and it is now open to industry and education and training providers to submit proposals for new apprenticeship programmes in their sectors. In conjunction with the second call, an information handbook has been produced for consortia that sets out in detail the ten-step critical path for the development of a new apprenticeship and also the key resources available to consortia to support them in the development process. The handbook, along with other supporting material, is available on the new apprenticeship website, , which will be a key source of information for apprentices, employers and industry looking at the apprenticeship model as a means of meeting their skill needs.

My Department, its agencies and the Apprenticeship Council are working in close collaboration with the combined aim of delivering these targets. Next month, curricula for five programmes will be considered for validation by Quality and Qualifications Ireland. The Apprenticeship Council continues to work with consortia from the first call on developing their proposals into sustainable apprenticeships. Recently, development funding has been approved for a further four programmes in the areas of retail practice, property services, engineering and ICT. A further ten proposals will shortly submit detailed development plans to the council and, subject to approval, will progress to development. Additional resources have been made available to agencies to support them in the expansion programme.

Arising from the first call, we have five programmes that are operational, 19 programmes that are at various stages of development and a further ten programmes that are about to move to development. Much has been learned in the expansion project and I am confident that we now have a clear process with strong governance to allow for the efficient development and approval of new apprenticeships. This will enable us to develop apprenticeships as an attractive and valued option for school leavers and other learners.

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