Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 174: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the route he, FÁS and SOLAS are providing to ensure school leavers can be trained as tradespeople (details supplied). [24868/11]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Apprenticeship is the recognised means by which people are trained to become craftspeople in Ireland. FÁS has the statutory responsibility for the organisation and control of designated apprenticeship. FÁS does this in co-operation with my Department, the Institutes of Technology, employers and unions.

The significant reduction in construction activity in Ireland over the last few years has raised difficult issues in relation to the future recruitment of apprentices. It has resulted in a situation where the recruitment of apprentices to the construction industry has declined by roughly 90% since 2007.

It is to be expected that the recruitment of apprentices will rise as the construction industry gradually recovers. However, it is anticipated that the level of annual recruitment will not reach the levels which prevailed during the construction boom - even in the long-term.

It is important that those who have responsibility for planning the intake of apprentices in the future, namely FÁS and the Institutes of Technology, have access to information on what the future levels of apprentice intake are likely to be.

A skills shortage could arise if the demand for apprentices in the future was significantly under-estimated; in contrast, an over-estimation of the future levels of demand for apprentices could result in the State retaining more resources than is required for the training of apprentices.

The Institutes of Technology, FÁS, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Jobs as well as my Department are all represented on an Interdepartmental Study Group on Apprentice Forecasting set-up by my Department in 2009. These forecasts can provide an objective, rational basis for planning the future level of apprentice intake. FÁS and the HEA, based on the forecast of apprenticeship intake, monitor the apprenticeship training capacity requirements on a regular basis and, within the relevant budget allocations, make the necessary adjustment to capacity to meet the demand.