Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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286. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has data on the uptake of apprenticeships and traineeships from young Travellers in the context of a commitment given by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection to the effect that Travellers under 25 years of age would receive good quality offers of continuing education, apprenticeships, traineeships or employment in the context of the youth guarantee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43713/18]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I am informed by SOLAS that there is no nationally collected data on participation by ethnic groups, including travellers for either apprenticeship or traineeship. The Action Plan to Expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland 2016-2020 sets out a series of detailed actions and annual targets on how the expansion commitments in the area set out in the Action Plan for Education will be met. Over the lifetime of the plan we will see 50,000 learners register on apprenticeship and traineeship programmes. This represents a more than doubling of activity by 2020.

This Government is committed to doubling the number of people on an apprenticeship programme by 2020 and expanding the apprenticeship model into new sectors of the economy. Arising from our two calls for apprenticeship proposals in 2015 and 2017 sixteen new apprenticeships have now been developed in a range of new occupations, including financial services, engineering, ICT, hospitality, logistics and accounting. Further new apprenticeships will get underway later this year and throughout 2019 in a variety of sectors including construction, engineering, horticulture and agriculture.

As well as developments in new apprenticeships, as the employment and economic situation continues to improve, we have seen strong growth in registrations across the craft trades nationally also with 4,508 new registrations in 2017, which represents a 20% increase on 2016. The upward trend continues this year with 3,504 new registrations recorded at the end of September, 7% ahead of the same period last year.

The Government is also prioritising the expansion of traineeship offerings. To date over twenty additional new traineeships have been developed in areas such as hospitality, engineering, logistics and animation. These new programmes will complement the existing programmes on offer. The programmes have been designed by ETBs working in collaboration with employers to meet identified skill needs. Further new traineeships will get underway later this year and throughout 2019 in a variety of sectors including financial services, media and engineering. We have also broadened the eligibility criteria on participation to include school leavers, older learners and people in employment.

As set out in the Action Plan to Expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland, SOLAS is currently reviewing pathways to participation in apprenticeship in a range of underrepresented groups, including ethnic groups such as travellers. The review will identify any barriers that may exist to participation in an apprenticeship programme. The purpose of the review is to ensure that our national apprenticeship system is more reflective of the range and diversity of our population, more inclusive of diverse backgrounds and abilities and that apprenticeship opportunities are more readily accessible to all. The review will result in the publication of actions in this area in the coming weeks, along with the background research.