Written answers

Tuesday, 13 July 2021

Department of Education and Skills

Apprenticeship Programmes

Photo of Rose Conway-WalshRose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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524. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if employers of apprentices receive any tax relief or incentives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37626/21]

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Currently during their three periods of off-the-job training (phases 2, 4 and 6 of a seven phase craft apprenticeship), craft apprentices are paid training allowances directly by the Education and Training Boards and are not paid by their employers. Under the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 this arrangement will continue for the 25 apprenticeships which are currently covered under this process. Actions set out in the Plan will see employers of all other apprentices become eligible for an annual base grant paid per apprentice. The level of grant will be announced by year end.

This will be supplemented by practical measures to support the employment of apprentices in SMEs, and additional financial and other measures to support the employment of underrepresented groups in apprenticeship and the delivery of skills essential to the economy. A new National Apprenticeship Office will make accessing information on, and engagement with, apprenticeship more straightforward for both learners and employers.  It will provide practical advice and support for the new consortia responsible for the delivery of apprenticeships at programme level.

In the meantime the Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme has been extended to include all apprentices registered to the end of this year to ensure that apprenticeship will play a key part in supporting economic recovery at the reopening of the economy following COVID-19.  The Scheme comprises a €2,000 payment when employers register a new apprentice, followed by an additional €1,000 payment one year later where that apprentice is retained.  Since the launch of the Scheme, payments in respect of 4,307 apprentice registrations have been made to date with a current spend of €8.614m. Estimates suggest that between 4500- 5000 Unique employers will be supported by the scheme.

In addition, SOLAS offers a bursary of €2,666.44 to eligible employers, to encourage them to employ female apprentices in one of the craft apprenticeships.  Under the Action Plan this bursary will be expanded to all programmes with greater than 80% representation of a single gender.

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