Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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188. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the programme in existence or being planned going forward for apprenticeships in Carlow town or county in view of the fact that Carlow is a manufacturing town. [7567/20]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Apprenticeships are demand driven educational and training programmes, which aim to develop the skills of an apprentice in order to meet the needs of industry and the labour market. As apprentices are employees, the demand for apprenticeship is primarily met by the employer base in any area. Each region in the country has a dedicated apprenticeship support system which is managed by the local Education and Training Board (ETB). In this particular situation it is managed by Kilkenny and Carlow ETB.

As national programmes, apprenticeships are delivered via a range of education and training providers and it is not practical to offer the full range of apprenticeship trades in each training location. This does not preclude employers from any specific region from participating in these apprenticeships.

In terms of the manufacturing sector, there are two main apprenticeships in Manufacturing Engineering and Manufacturing Technology available as well as apprenticeships in associated functions such as ICT, Sales, Accounting Technician and Logistics/Supply Chain. A further apprenticeship in Manufacturing Data Integration Engineer is currently in development.

The 55 national apprenticeship programmes currently available are open to all eligible employers who wish to train apprentices in their particular sector, subject to suitability to train being assessed and approved by SOLAS via the local ETB. Interested employers who wish to be approved to train apprentices in a particular occupation should contact their local ETB or fill out an expression of interest form online on the apprenticeship jobs portal which is available on the website www.apprenticeship.ie.