Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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137. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to increase the number of women entering apprenticeships. [27638/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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In order to be registered as an apprentice by SOLAS, a person must be employed by an approved employer in one of the 27 trades. Recruitment to apprenticeship is therefore driven by employers rather than by SOLAS or by education and training providers. The 2014 Review of Apprenticeship in Ireland acknowledged that the number of women employed in craft apprenticeships is low as this has been traditionally a male dominated sector. As an incentive to employers, a bursary is available to encourage women to take up apprenticeships. The bursary provides a total grant of €2,667 to each employer for each female apprentice recruited. The grant is intended as a contribution towards wage and other apprentice costs over the first 28 weeks of phases 1 and 3.  Despite the availability of the bursary the number of female apprentices remains low.

Currently the Apprenticeship Council is overseeing the expansion of the apprenticeship system into a range of new areas, following a call for proposals from employers and education and training providers. 25 proposals have been prioritised by the Council for development. The Insurance Practitioner Apprenticeship was launched earlier this month with further new apprenticeships to be launched later this year and early next year.

Many of these new apprenticeships are in sectors where there is a different gender balance in the workplace and thus will lead to a natural increase in female participation when these new apprenticeships are launched in the coming months.  

Accompanying the renewal and expansion of apprenticeship in Ireland will be a new branding and marketing campaign. SOLAS will examine how this campaign can assist with promoting apprenticeship to women and to their potential employers.