Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Recently, there was serious concern among the staff of the carpentry and joinery section of the engineering department of the Institute of Technology Tralee when they were informed of a proposal to centralise apprenticeship education into two national centres which may not include the Institute of Technology Tralee.

Carpentry and joinery education has been catered for continuously in Kerry by Kerry VEC, Tralee VEC, Tralee RTC and the Institute of Technology Tralee, through peaks and troughs in the building industry and through every recession since the vocational system was established in 1930. Back then, the apprenticeship system was controlled and maintained by the Department of Education. In more recent times, FÁS was given central control of the apprenticeship scheme.

The Institute of Technology Tralee has catered for the needs of carpentry and joinery for the construction industry. It has been providing services in the south west region for all these years and has a strong connection with the construction industry and the public in general. The institute also runs the only agricultural mechanics course for apprentices in the country. It enforces the need to maintain the trade of carpentry and joinery as there is commonality of theoretical subjects such as mathematics and geometry.

The Institute of Technology Tralee has invested heavily in facilities to ensure that its apprentices are trained to the highest standards for current and future industrial requirements. Parallel to this, student numbers have grown to reach a peak of 1,628 three times a year. In the past, the institute has facilitated requests to run summer blocks to alleviate backlogs of student numbers up to and including the summer of 2009.

The institute was the only one in the country to maintain carpentry and joinery courses through the 1980s recession and has been a mainstay for the trade over the years. Some institutes have only returned to the trade in recent years and consequently lack the continuity of experience which the Institute of Technology Tralee offers. Initially, the institute catered for students from the catchment area of Kerry, north Cork and west Limerick but due to the boom in the construction industry students have been travelling to Tralee from all over the country. These increased numbers have been of huge economic benefit to the town of Tralee which has suffered considerably from a lack of industrial jobs over the past 20 years in particular.

The 12 members of staff have taken an active role in the development of the carpentry and joinery section, including syllabi feedback, student support and self study, writing texts for the trade, participation in assessment procedures and development of state of the art workshops. The institute has an impeccable record of health and safety in carpentry and joinery, due in part to the diligence of staff but also to the constant updating of modern machinery and facilities.

The provision of carpentry and joinery, if lost, could be very difficult to replace. Therefore, it is imperative that the Institute of Technology Tralee maintains a core student enrolment in carpentry and joinery throughout the downturn so as to enable the institute to cater for the future provision once the recession has passed.

The management of the Institute of Technology Tralee met with Higher Education Authority representatives in December 2009 to present them with the arguments to maintain this education service in the college. The future of carpentry and joinery education in the institute will be determined by the HEA in conjunction with the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. The south west region has suffered loss of services in other areas such as health and transport so it is vital for the region that we do not suffer further losses in education. This is why it is critical that we preserve the provision of carpentry and joinery education at the Institute of Technology Tralee.

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Deenihan. I will respond on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who cannot be here.

Apprenticeship is a blended training programme, with part of the training delivered by employers and part by FÁS and educational institutions. In most of the trades, FÁS apprentices undertake a seven phase training programme, with phases 4 and 6 provided by the education sector in institutes of technology and in two colleges of further education. The number of places provided for phase 4 and 6 apprentices is determined by the number of registered apprentices ready to progress to these phases. Accordingly, the number of places is determined by the level of demand in any given year.

As Deputy Deenihan is aware, the downturn in the construction sector has resulted in a significant fall-off in the numbers of apprentices being recruited nationally. The number of FÁS registered apprentices requiring education and training has declined from 8,300 in 2006 to 1,535 in 2009, a reduction of more than 80%. Construction related trades, including carpentry and joinery, have been particularly affected.

To plan for the reduced requirement for education and training provision in construction related trades, a group comprising representatives from the Department of Education and Science, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Higher Education Authority and FÁS was established to examine relevant data and forecast, in so far as it is possible, expected construction related recruitment levels over the next number of years. Based on the group's forecasts, the Higher Education Authority notified institutions of the reduced requirement for education provision and consulted with individual institutions to assess the impact of the forecast reduction in numbers on the education sector.

Having regard to the inputs received and to enable the necessary reduction in education provision for the construction and related trades to be implemented on an objective basis across the country, an independent evaluation panel was established to advise the HEA on the appropriate levels of provision required within the education sector to meet likely future demand. The independent panel evaluated submissions and presentations from 12 institutes of technology and two colleges of further education regarding future provision at reduced levels of demand and has made recommendations on the allocation of reductions in provision that take account of national and regional factors, funding and efficiency levels, as well as the impact of reductions on education providers. The recommendations provide for a phased reduction in the number of annual apprenticeship blocks from 655 in the 2008-09 academic year to 447 in 2014-15. The overall recommendations are made on the basis of rationalised distributed provision rather than concentrating courses in a small number of national centres.

On 20 January 2010 the institutions were notified of the provisional recommendations and given opportunities to make observations on them. While the panel has recommended a reduction in carpentry and joinery provision in Institute of Technology Tralee, education provision in that trade will continue to be provided by the institute at a reduced level. This is in line with reductions in other institutions and reflects the likely demand for provision in that trade in the south west. I understand that the HEA has arranged to meet the presidents of the affected institutes of technology later this month to discuss the general approach to the management of the reductions and will meet separately with each institute over the coming weeks to clarify the implications of the allocations.

The allocated reductions will not take place before the 2011 academic year because significant numbers of apprentices who commenced their apprenticeships before the downturn in recruitment continue to progress through the system. It is also proposed to keep the future demand for apprentice provision under a five year rolling review.

I thank Deputy Deenihan again for raising this issue and providing me with an opportunity to outline the recent developments in apprenticeship education provision and to clarify the process used to enable the necessary reductions in provision to be implemented on an objective basis.