Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Of course it is a concern. The level of dropout from any course is a concern but it is not exclusive to apprenticeships. There are turnover and different dropout rates throughout our third-level sector.

That is just one of the challenges. It is about choice as well. Sometimes, people make a career choice which is not suited to them or does not work out. Our job is to identify the apprenticeships and gaps in the labour force, to identify the skills needs and to work with the employers and consortia on that. We also have to work with the apprentices. We do that by way of trying to support them, especially in their off-the-job training.

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