Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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200. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of registrations in floor and wall tiling in each of the years 2015 to 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form; and the apprentice population in floor and wall tiling. [52823/18]

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 in the sector.

As part of the ongoing review of apprenticeship in Ireland SOLAS has conducted standards development and programme reviews for 23 of the existing craft trade apprenticeship programmes. As part of this review and in response to the lack of sufficient numbers registering for both the tiling and the plastering apprenticeships it was decided to amalgamate both programmes and registrations for the floor and wall tiling programme were suspended in April 2014. In 2015 there was one apprentice undertaking the floor and wall tiling programme who has since completed the programme and consequently there is no apprentice population.

I am informed by SOLAS that the new amalgamated programme is expected to be validated in 2019 with rollout thereafter.