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

I thank the Deputy for her question. We have a singular focus on securing sustained reductions in waiting times for apprenticeship training. There has been a significant reduction in the number of apprentices waiting longer than six months for their off-the-job training. The backlog stood at 3,817 in January 2024. It was as high as 5,212 in in August 2023. The progress achieved results from a cross-sectoral plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office for 2024. It is essential that this progress is maintained.

Successful delivery of priority Government strategies such as the national development plan, Housing for All and the Climate Action Plan require significant growth in our apprenticeship training capacity. There is now also a strong and growing recognition of apprenticeship as a valuable employment and skills opportunity, reflected in a 25% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations from 5,271 in 2019 to 6,588 in 2023.

Increased funding of €67 million allocated to apprenticeship secured through the Estimates for this year, bringing total investment to €300 million, is a vital step in building the capacity required to reduce delays in apprenticeship training and meet future training requirements. Key specific actions taken to address the backlog under the plan include education and training boards, ETBs, being mandated to deliver three intakes of apprentices a year, increasing capacity from over 5,500 places in 2023 to over 8,900 in 2024, a 60% increase. A targeted national recruitment campaign for more than 100 craft apprenticeship instructors is under way. In conclusion, it is our priority to not only respond to the backlog, but to ensure the system is right-sized to deliver future demand for skilled tradespeople.

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