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

I thank the Deputy for his question. We are making significant progress in realising the ambition of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025. A key objective is to make apprenticeships more attractive to employers and learners and to ensure continued engagement. The progress to date includes: the establishment of the National Apprenticeship Office, the appointment of its first director and the initiation of its work plan; the removal of legislative barriers to the development of apprenticeship programmes in professions, enabled by the approval of the Oireachtas of the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022; the establishment of the National Apprenticeship Alliance, representing a broad range of partners involved in apprenticeship; the imminent establishment of the equity of access subcommittee, to help make apprenticeship more reflective of the national population; securing resources for access measures, including a bursary programme for underrepresented groups; the introduction of the apprenticeship employer grant of €2,000 and a gender bursary grant of €2,666; a significant increase in the number of new apprenticeship registrations in 2021 - a near 40% increase on the 2019 figures; the allocation of €17.2 million of additional capital investment for SOLAS and the Higher Education Authority, HEA, building on the €20 million apprenticeship capital fund investment in 2021; and the inclusion of apprenticeship options on the CAO website from November 2021.

Due to these measures and other supports aimed at simplifying the process for employers, there are currently almost 8,500 employers and 25,000 apprentices. We are confident that these numbers will increase as apprenticeships can help companies to compete in the modern marketplace and make their organisations more competitive. In addition to building the company's skills base, providing quality training helps with staff loyalty and retention, thus adding more to the benefits of apprenticeships.

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