Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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741. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department plans to allocate funding to pre-apprenticeship training programmes that work predominantly with early school leavers and offer them a pathway to mainstream trade apprenticeships. [21509/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Funding for pre-apprenticeship programmes has increased since 2018-2019, with a Pathways to Apprenticeship funding stream within the Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) further education and training programme that targets specific disadvantaged cohorts, including early school leavers, who wish to progress to all types of the apprenticeship programmes, including craft apprenticeships. The overall aim of the PLC Pathways to Apprenticeship Programme is to provide opportunities for learners to gain experience in areas where they are considering undertaking an apprenticeship.

Funding is available within the overall funding allocated to PLC provision. Initial planning data indicates that 813 learners will benefit from this funding in 2021. However, like all FET provision, final numbers taking up places may be affected by Covid restrictions. A pre-apprenticeship initiative is also underway via Technological University Dublin, with their Access to Apprenticeship programme now in its third year. The TU Dublin programme aims to support individuals who have experienced particularly severe social and/or economic barriers to access the apprenticeship route.

SOLAS is also running a second year of a Generation Apprenticeship competition at second level, which is open to those at school, in Youthreach and in Community Training Centres. The competition aims to introduce young people, their families, teachers and guidance counsellors to all of the opportunities available within apprenticeship in Ireland.

In accordance with the Programme for Government, a new Action Plan for Apprenticeship to cover the period 2021-2025 was launched on 19th April.  The Plan promotes access, diversity and inclusion in apprenticeship by offering targeted supports to encourage participation from young people and under-represented groups such as women, those with disabilities and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.  Relevant actions include publishing information on access to apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship courses on www.apprenticeship.ie and labelling these courses clearly with progression routes into apprenticeship clearly identified.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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742. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the supports his Department will put in place for early school leavers who wish to pursue a trade but do not meet the minimum educational standards for mainstream trade apprenticeships. [21510/21]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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743. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the services available for early school leavers in County Westmeath who wish to pursue a mainstream trade apprenticeship. [21511/21]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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750. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the services available for early school leavers in County Longford who wish to pursue a mainstream trade apprenticeship. [21518/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 742, 743 and 750 together.

The Youthreach programme is a national programme education and training for early school leavers. The programme is delivered in two settings, Youthreach Centres and Community Training Centres (CTCs).  

The Youthreach programme provides two years integrated education, training and work experience for unemployed early school leavers without any qualifications or vocational training, who are between 16 and 21 years of age. The programme offers participants the opportunity to identify and pursue viable options within adult life, provides them with opportunities to acquire certification, and includes a work experience element to prepare participants for progression on to further study, training or working life. 

Early school leavers who wish to pursue an apprenticeship and who may not have the minimum qualifications to do so, may attend a Youthreach programme and achieve a Quality and Qualifications (QQI ) award which will allow the young person to register as an apprentice. The Youthreach programme offers QQI Levels 3 and 4, which is a minimum requirement for progression into an apprenticeship. This provides  work experience modules which create links with potential employers who offer apprenticeship placements. Learners are provided with career guidance in relation to apprenticeships and also undertake educational visits to locations where registered apprentices attend training.

Youthreach programme provision includes a broad range of practical skills which prepare learners to progress into apprenticeships and include:

- Hairdressing

- Engineering

- Woodwork

- Electronics

- Computer Aided Design

- Maths

- Short Order Cooking 

- Breakfast Cookery

- Craft

- Entrepreneurial Skills

- Team Working  

- Work Experience

The number of learner placements currently in Youthreach/CTC's in the counties of Longford and Westmeath are provided below:

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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744. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the enrolment figures for mainstream construction trade apprenticeships in County Westmeath in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [21512/21]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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745. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the enrolment figures for mainstream construction trade apprenticeships in County Longford in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [21513/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 744 and 745 together.

Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB) are responsible for managing apprentice registrations across both counties.The attached table provides the number of construction related apprentices registered to LWETB for the required timeframe.