Joe Conway (Independent)

Back in 2014, Waterford County Council and Waterford City Council amalgamated. At the first meeting of that amalgamated council in July 2014, I put a question to the then chief executive, Michael Walsh. I asked him if he could tell the council how many apprentices there were in the new amalgamated council. He said he regretted to tell us that the number was zero. I thought it was a shocking indictment of a local authority at the time. Obviously, things have changed, with a lot of fosterage and good governance by the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and his predecessors. The number of apprentices that we have under the Minister's aegis would be close to five figures, perhaps 9,000. It shows a remarkable adjustment in national planning that we have gone from the situation where we had very little apprenticeship in the Cinderella of the economy where the whole thrust with young people was to get to universities and to become lawyers and doctors and brain surgeons. Of course, a lot of this has borne out the problems we have in providing housing for our ever-increasing population, which is at record figures now. It is on that subject of apprenticeships and the Minister's work that I want to give a little time to the successes and the challenges.

If the Minister will permit, I will look at my notes and I will need my specs for this overview of the apprenticeship model in Ireland. I am just going to have a little scoot through it. The apprenticeship model, as we all know, follows an earn-while-you-learn model, which combines on-the-job training with an employer and off-the-job training in an educational training centre for a duration of two to four years depending on the programme. The eligibility is open to school leavers, career changers and mature learners. Typically, these are employed by an approved employer before starting. When I began to research this, it really surprised me that the qualifications can go anywhere from the level 5 to the level 10 award, which is extraordinary vision in the scheme. There are now nearly 80 programmes that I could assess. These courses enjoy the support of the traditional trades such as electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and motor mechanics but there are also newer sectors, which Senator Ryan averted to, such as finance, accounting technician, insurance practitioner, ICT, cybersecurity, software development, engineering, manufacturing and industrial electrical engineering, hospitality and food, commis chef, butcher, healthcare and social services. The list is quite exhaustive. All the while, the apprentices are paid by their employer. The rates vary by sector and the year of training. Reasonably generous employer grants are available to encourage uptake. Apprenticeship bursaries exist for underrepresented groups and particularly for women in a male-dominated section of the trades. There are no tuition fees for most of the programmes.

According to Arcon Recruitment and SOLAS, the most sought-after trades include electrical and plumbing. A couple years ago, I was mayor down in Waterford. When you are a mayor, you are wheeled out to officiate and do all the presentation things. I was brought along to the South East Technological University and I had the great pleasure of presenting the degrees to the apprenticeship class. I would have to say that it was one of the most memorable occasions of my time there. I was talking to them all and the vast majority of them were going to be, as they said to me, a "sparky". They were all going off into the electrical trade. People who are building houses are telling us about the difficulty in recruitment and they will still say that sparkies are hard to come by.

Looking at the downside, however, it is not all good news and bravado from me, I am afraid. The apprenticeship system in 2025 faces three major shortfalls that I can see, namely, persistent backlogs, underfunding to a certain extent, and uneven access especially in construction and in the rural areas of the country. As of mid-2025, over 9,000 apprentices are waiting to qualify, particularly in the craft and construction trades. Delays stem from limited capacity in training centres and especially for off-the-job phases, which are essential for qualification and certification. Some education and training boards have deferred courses by up to a year despite record enrolments. The impact of this is that the bottleneck slows down the entry into the workforce and exacerbates labour shortages, notably in housing and infrastructure, and it can discourage new applicants. Then there is the question of funding shortfalls and resource constraints. Unions like SIPTU and Unite report that the system is underfunded and overstretched, with insufficient investment in facilities and staff. That is their take on it. Despite a 34% increase in registrations from 2019 to 2024, funding has not kept pace with demands because smaller ETBs struggle to maintain programme quality. Some employers are reluctant to participate due to the lack of financial incentives.

I can see that my time is flitting away and I just want to address the uneven access and regional disparities. Apprenticeship opportunities are concentrated in urban centres, leaving rural areas like parts of Waterford and particularly west Waterford with fewer options. Smaller local authorities such as ours and employers often lack the capacity or awareness to engage with apprenticeship schemes. There is also the inevitable gender imbalance, with women underrepresented in many high-demand trades. This undermines Ireland's goals for balanced regional development, which we talk about a lot in this Chamber, and inclusive workforce planning under the national planning framework. The suggested remedies I am giving as the humble Senator here are ring-fencing the funding for smaller ETBs and rural employers, expanding the training centre capacity especially in construction and ICT and streamlining the qualification pathways to reduce delays and bottlenecks. I hope that my cúpla focail will have added somewhat to the quantum of knowledge and understanding on the targeted outreach and bursaries that will improve geographical equity and gender equality.