Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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90. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of apprentices currently enrolled in Cork; and the number targeted for 2023-24. [26653/23]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minster update the House on the number of apprentices enrolled in Cork and the target for 2023-4?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There were 3,011 apprentices enrolled in Cork Education and Training Board, ETB, across a large range, including plumbing and electrical, wind-turbine maintenance and insurance practitioner.

A key strength of the apprenticeship model is that it is a demand-led approach to meeting workforce and skill requirements in our economy and country. As apprentices are employees, the demand for and number of apprentices is primarily dictated by employers in any area or sector. Having 3,011 enrolled in Cork is very significant given the overall national figure and I pay tribute to Cork ETB. I was in Bishopstown recently for the opening of a new retrofitting centre. It is a very progressive ETB that works very proactively to develop pathways.

We continue to work through the Action Plan for Apprenticeship, 2021 to 2025 to achieve a national target of 10,000 annual registrations by 2025. The positive impacts of the plan includes increased supports to employers. For the first time, we are providing financial assistance of some sort to every employer who takes on an apprentice. The principal aim is to encourage more small and medium businesses in Cork and elsewhere to be able to take on people.

There are now 67 national apprenticeship programmes, of which 25 are craft programmes and 42 are new consortia-led apprenticeships. This shows there are huge opportunities now, be it in crafts, trades, plumbing, electrical and carpentry but also now in ICT, retail and biopharmaceuticals. Many of the new programmes have off-the-job training delivered through online or blended training. There are, therefore, a huge number of opportunities for people to take up apprenticeship opportunities across a wide range of areas regardless of their interests. Again, I want to express my thanks to Cork ETB for its work in this area.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I know the ETB in Cork does great work but there are serious constraints with the MTU campus, which is a great campus. Deputy Ó Laoghaire and I met the university's representatives last year. Capacity is an issue. We need additional capacity in order that we can deliver the apprenticeships that are needed. There is an opportunity.

We have derelict and vacant buildings around Cork city, particularly on the north side. I have advocated for an apprentice hub or campus from MTU to be located on the north side to specifically concentrate on apprenticeships. I also want to mention that there is a great opportunity for young people now to progress in education who might not want to go to third level. I recently spoke to a student from Switzerland who was in Ireland for the year and was going back home. They have a completely different structure to their education when it comes to apprenticeships. We also see that in Germany where apprenticeships are virtually on a level playing field with different types of third level education. That is a model I would like to see. I would like to see more opportunity.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I fully agree with the Deputy on his passionate contribution around apprenticeships. While "snobby" may or may not be the right word, we have had too narrow or elitist a view towards educational opportunities. It is this idea that if people go directly from school to university, they are a success, and another pathway is somewhat lesser. That is, of course, not true at all.

Apprenticeships are third level. They are just another way of getting there. People can get paid as they learn; they can earn and learn. They can get practical experience as they are based in the workplace for some of the time and are based in the college or an early education setting for others. It is working for thousands of people every year and it works for employers too. We are with the Deputy on this.

The CAO website has now been changed. It used to be kind of hidden away. People were not told about apprenticeships. The apprenticeships are now up on the CAO website. There is a dedicated guidance counselling helpline for anyone who wishes to find out more, be they parent, teacher or student. We will keep at this and keep promoting them together.

On the MTU campus and capacity issues, I am happy to look into that further. We are obviously investing a lot of capital in our technological universities. MTU has been doing a really good job since it started. Now that it has started, it is about growing it further and improving its facilities. I met its representatives relatively recently on this and I will keep engaging to see what the opportunities are.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Mayfield Community School, Cork, has teamed up with John Sisk & Son to offer apprenticeships to young people who are leaving school, which is a great initiative. The Minister should perhaps consider engaging with secondary schools and other builders to deliver more types of these apprenticeships.

The Minister has a targeted figure of 10,000 apprenticeships per year. Is there a breakdown of how many of them will be in the building trades? I talk to builders and people in the construction industry. I just came from a meeting of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage before which industry representatives are appearing at the moment. There is a huge shortfall in apprenticeships. I speak to young people who tell me about the terms and conditions for young apprentices to go in. There is actually an opportunity now for young people to do different jobs. If we want to get young people into apprenticeships, we must improve the terms and conditions, especially in the building trade. If we are going to build the houses we need to build, we need the apprentices to build them.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do not have that breakdown off the top of my head but from memory, approximately 6,000 of the current apprentices are in the craft area. That is roughly speaking where I would imagine we will land. There is a big push on developing craft apprenticeships and working with the construction and retrofitting sectors and the green economy because there are really key and acute issues there. I will definitely take up the Deputy's invitation to visit schools. I visited 80 secondary schools in the last 12 months. I feel really passionate, as I know the Deputy does, about getting into schools and showing these to young people as an opportunity. I am very pleased that taster apprenticeship courses, if I may call them that, have now been introduced in transition year in a number of schools. That should be happening in all schools as quickly as possible. I am very pleased to hear about that initiative with John Sisk & Sons, to which I pay tribute in that regard.

Yes, I want to do more on the terms and conditions and pay and support for our apprentices. Against that I would say that we have seen more people than ever before effectively now put up their hands up to become apprentices. Apprentices are not in any way immune from the cost-of-living crisis, however. I am very eager to engage with them and their representative bodies between now and the budget to see how we can further support them.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Deputy Brendan Smith for allowing me to come in before him. It is much appreciated.