John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their very valuable contributions. I know that all of them have an interest in apprenticeships and in developing apprenticeships and skills. We should look at where our economy is today and then look back ten or 12 years. As I have always said, during the recession the area of apprenticeships practically collapsed. This happened for a number of reasons, including high levels of unemployment. Before the recession, many basic apprenticeships collapsed. I do not like to use the word "basic", but I refer to apprenticeships that are essential to the progression of our economy in the building industry such as carpentry, plastering, and bricklaying apprenticeships. These collapsed because builders trying to get work done as quickly as possible did not really have time to take on apprentices. I have no hesitation in saying that as they may have felt it was what had to be done. We took in many people from abroad, with which I have no problem, so the number of apprenticeships dropped. It was, therefore, an enormous task for me, when I was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for apprenticeships, to make sure that we again developed the basic apprenticeships, but also that we enhanced apprenticeships. I believe we have done that.I will not call the full range of apprenticeships out but there are 41, including for advanced quantity surveyors, horticulture, hairdressing, healthcare assistants, HGV drivers, equipment engineering, sports management, supply chain associates, science, aircraft assistants, pipe-fitting, hospitality, engineering, accounting and so on. The 41 apprenticeships include 17 new apprenticeships this year. I think we have done exceptionally well.

Senator Davitt spoke about employers. I have a lot of sympathy for employers. I understand that there is a complexity and it is important for us to be able to get the message to employers that, when they take on apprentices, they further develop their own company. When talking to employers, especially in the high IT sector, we have found that they are more than happy to take apprenticeships. We are short on high skills which is a debate we should have at some stage. Employers are happy to take apprentices on and train them at that high end of the employment bracket.

Senator Davitt is correct to a degree. I have been to a few countries around the world which have a different funding scheme for apprenticeships where the Government will co-fund, to a large degree, the apprentice working with the company. One also finds that it is not unusual for employers to go into third level or leaving certificate institutions to find out the skill factors of the students there, if they are good at science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to take them straight away and co-fund them. It can work either way. I will look at that. Assessing the effect it has is part of the remit that I have set out for myself. The Senator is correct that it can sometimes be very difficult for small employers to do the same financing as big employers. We will look at that.