Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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131. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position with regard to the development of a mechanism to recognise a person’s practical work experience and expertise in order to enable the person to take on an apprenticeship. [41141/19]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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SOLAS has established a Recognition of Prior Learning [RPL] mechanism which enables an individual, with the appropriate work experience, to gain access to an apprenticeship programme.

An individual must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible:

1. Must be 16 years or older

2. Have a min 5 'D' grades in the Junior Certificate, a pre- apprenticeship programme or be a mature applicant

3. The individual must source an approved employer

4. They must register to their particular craft apprenticeship with an Education and Training Board (ETB)

5. Seek exemptions through the submission of an evidence based portfolio.

Once an individual has registered with an appropriate ETB, they can request the support of an Authorised Officer in the ETB to have their formal, non-formal and informal awards and work experience considered. Thereafter, they can seek exemptions from a programme through the submission of a portfolio of evidence relevant to the respective craft apprenticeship. On receipt of a portfolio SOLAS engages the services of a subject matter expert to map the portfolio to the precise requirements of the relevant craft apprenticeship.