Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will definitely look into the issue of unused capacity. I would be pleased if the Deputy wants to share any details with me. I want to be clear. There will be a need for more instructors but we will also have to physically expand the capacity of the workshops alongside that.

The Deputy's question about new types of apprenticeship is key because of the jobs of the future. We have mechanics and that is important, but more and more people are driving electric vehicles, EVs. The curriculum has been updated so that anyone doing a mechanic apprenticeship now is being trained on how to service an electric vehicle. When they lift the bonnet of an EV, it is different from what they are used to looking at. We are looking at opening a centre of excellence for EV training in the midlands, for example. That is one of the key priorities.

On offshore wind, we have developed the first wind turbine maintenance apprenticeship in Kerry, recognising that there will be jobs in offshore wind and we must be able to provide the people to do them. I want people in the public and private sectors to know this. Our door is not only open; we are actively inviting people in to talk to the new National Apprenticeship Office. It takes an industry to come forward and say it needs an apprenticeship programme to be developed. It must partner with the education sector and bring forward a proposal. Some 67 programmes have been approved and many more will come on stream between now and the end of the year - probably the best part of a dozen more.

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