Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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178. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will expand on plans to provide apprenticeships and skills training in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16898/17]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Following the Review of Apprenticeship Training in Ireland, the Apprenticeship Council was established in November 2014 to oversee the expansion of the apprenticeship system into a range of new sectors of the economy. The Council immediately began work on a call for proposals for the development of new enterprise-led apprenticeships.  The call issued in January 2015 and over 80 proposals were received from industry stakeholders working with education and training providers.

The Apprenticeship Council has been working with the proposers of these new programmes to develop them in sustainable apprenticeships that can be delivered on a nationwide basis. The first of these new apprenticeships commenced recently with the launch of the Insurance Practitioner Apprenticeship in September 2016 and the new Industrial Electrical Engineer Apprenticeship in November 2016. 

Three further apprenticeships in the manufacturing area have also recently completed validation and approval.  Employers in those areas, including those in the Kildare region, will be able to recruit apprentices to these programmes shortly.  Ten further new apprenticeships are due to launch later this year in various sectors including financial services, hospitality and ICT and a pipeline of new apprenticeships is in place for subsequent years.  This pipeline will be refreshed through the launch of a new call for proposals later this month.

I have also launched an Action Plan to expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland 2016-2020, which sets out how state agencies, education and training providers and employers will work together to deliver on the Programme for Government commitments on the expansion of apprenticeship and traineeship in the period. The Plan sets out how we will manage the pipeline of new apprenticeships already established through the first call for proposals and also commits to a new call for apprenticeship proposals later this year. Over the lifetime of the Plan, 50,000 people will be registered on apprenticeship and traineeship programmes which represents a doubling of current activity.

Registrations in the 27 craft apprenticeship trades are rising strongly as the employment and economic situation improves and I welcome that employers throughout the country are engaging strongly with the apprenticeship system.  In 2015 there were 3,153 registrations in existing apprenticeships which represented a 17% increase on the previous year. In 2016 there were 3,742 new registrations in craft apprenticeships, 182 of which were taken on in the Kildare region. This year the strong growth in new registrations continues with 893 apprentices registered at the end of February, 48 of which are in Kildare. Current forecasts are that annual registrations will increase to 4,147 in 2017 and 4,697 in 2018. 

A campaign to promote apprenticeship is currently being developed by SOLAS in consultation with key partners, including the Apprenticeship Council. The campaign will raise awareness and promote the values of apprenticeship for individual apprentices and for employers and it will cover both existing apprenticeships and the new apprenticeships now coming on stream.

On a broader note a number of strategies have been developed by the education and training system at all levels to meet existing and future skills demands in the workplace. Last year my Department published the National Skills Strategy 2025 and the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 both of which contain over 100 actions designed to see the system become the best in Europe over the next decade. Some of these actions are specifically aimed at ensuring that the labour force has access to education and training provision that equips them with the skills that enterprise needs, now and in the future. 

In 2016, as part of the National Skills Strategy 2025, nine Regional Skills Fora, including one in the Mid-East covering County Kildare, were established. The Mid-East Regional Skills Forum has identified a number of sectors including the agrifood film/audio visual, construction, hospitality, manufacturing and the equine sectors where there are skills needs. In order to address these skills needs the Forum has, and will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders.