Results 4,061-4,080 of 6,631 for speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the witnesses for being here and for their opening statements. This is a good opportunity for the committee to talk to the apprentices so I will focus my first questions on that area. Mr. McSherry is a bricklayer apprentice. Is he finished his apprenticeship?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: How long will the apprenticeship have taken from start to finish?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: That is a real challenge for us. Obviously, Mr. McSherry did not envisage that when he started out and it would have impacted on his earnings. Did that mean he went nearly a year on reduced wages?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I can imagine it would be. I am delighted Mr. McSherry chose that particular apprenticeship because we have not had big numbers of new apprentice bricklayers entering the system. There were 473 brickie apprentices in the register in 2006 and only 56 in 2020. We often get the overall figures but we need to dig a bit deeper to be able to see what is going on. Why does Mr. McSherry think...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is there anything that we could do to attract more people to work as bricklayers? It is a huge problem for us as a country or economy. There are all these projections for building houses but if we have no people to build them we will be in dire straits. Are there things we could do to make it easier for apprentices?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I know I am putting Mr. McSherry on the spot.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Thinking of the last six to 12 months with inflation, the cost of living, accommodation and the extra expenses, have the witnesses noticed a difference in participation in apprenticeships? Is it getting more difficult having to put fuel in the van and so on?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Have the others experienced difficulties with the cost of living and the costs associated with doing the apprenticeship? Let us take the fees for the off-the-job training or accommodation, for example. Are their apprenticeships near where they live or do they have to travel or get accommodation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The class started with 20 and dropped to four.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Sorry, what was Ms Leane's apprenticeship again?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Why does Ms Leane think that such a large number dropped out?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: That is interesting. I heard this morning on the radio about a restaurant in Lisselton that is closing down. There is such a demand for chefs and for kitchen staff. It is having a great impact on the hospitality sector. People are crying out for chefs. I hear what Ms Leane is saying about employers for apprenticeships during their learning experience-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes, so that people will stay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I am really pleased to hear Mr. Hourihan speak about collaboration with ETBs and the way forward is to use both premises. I welcome the capital funding available to the ETBs and I hope it will make a big difference. One of the biggest challenges is that we do not have the workshops and space, and we know that. We have a huge backlog. It would take a number of years to clear, even if a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: That is great. I like the idea of Ms Leane and others being ambassadors for apprenticeships and going out into schools. Turning to Mr. English, how feasible is that if the proper, targeted investment were to be allocated to cover this type of approach in all the second-level schools in an area? Is it doable? How much of this type of endeavour happens now? I learned nothing more important...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It would have to be done more than once. I would like to see details of the costings of such an initiative and of the logistics involved in the context of how it could be managed throughout the country.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: We are looking at student mobility across the island and the opportunities in that regard. Turning to such opportunities for apprenticeships as well in a 32-county context, how feasible would such mobility be? I would like to hear from the apprentices here with us on this question. Would they consider doing an apprenticeship, or part of one, in one jurisdiction and another part in a...