Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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846. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which apprenticeships are available in all areas throughout the country at present; the uptake of such places; the extent to which the places available meet the demand; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42162/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The statistical information requested by the Deputy is held by SOLAS and I have asked them to reply directly to the Deputy with this information.

In terms of meeting the demand for apprenticeships, apprenticeship is the recognised means by which people are trained to become craftspeople in certain designated trades in Ireland. It is a programme which is driven by employer demand, aimed at developing the skills of the apprentice to meet the needs of industry and the labour market.

SOLAS approves the employer as competent to train apprentices, but does not limit or control recruitment numbers. Individual employers therefore control recruitment to apprenticeship. Following notification by the employer to SOLAS that recruitment has taken place, SOLAS registers the recruit on the apprentice register.