Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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221. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which efforts continue to be made to create apprenticeship opportunities under various trades; the degree to which specific shortages have been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26939/18]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Apprenticeship is a demand driven educational and training programme, which aims to develop the skills of an apprentice in order to meet the needs of industry and the labour market. Consequently, the number of apprentices being registered is determined by employers within each sector. My Department is committed to supporting the increased registration of apprentices across all sectors. New apprenticeship registrations have risen from 2,698 in 2014 to 4,843 in 2017, which represents an increase of almost 80%.

As the Deputy is aware, the Government is currently expanding the range of apprenticeships on offer to meet the identified skill needs of industry. Arising from our first call for apprenticeship proposals in 2015 eleven new apprenticeships have been developed in a wide range of sectors, including financial services, engineering, ICT and accounting. Further new apprenticeships will get underway later in 2018.

In addition, arising from last year’s second call for proposals, I recently announced 26 new programmes for further development into national apprenticeships across a wide variety of sectors including construction, engineering, horticulture and agriculture. These new programmes, once developed, will add to and complement the range of apprenticeships currently on offer in developing the skill needs of our economy.