Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste has said the economy is going to take off like a rocket. What he said about the theory test shows that the situation is a shambles. Apprenticeship schemes are also unable to function. You need two things for an apprenticeship, namely, a good employer who will give people the opportunity and colleges to provide the courses. People cannot get into the colleges because they are not functioning. I had a young man on to me this morning who, even though he is in an apprenticeship scheme for six months, has to wait until February 2022 to get his college place. That mean he cannot move on and his employer will have issues as well. It also means he cannot get a mortgage because of his rate of pay and everything else. He cannot make progress. Apprenticeships are vital to this economy. The situation was bad enough before Covid and it is ten times worse now. This delay is unacceptable because employers will not be anxious to take on apprentices, and one cannot blame them, when they cannot get them into training and there is no structure around it. We need to deal with the apprenticeship schemes. As I said, the system was bad even before Covid. We need to deal with the colleges that are not taking in apprentices. They must play their part.

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