Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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650. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of €2,000 payments made for each type of apprentice under the employer grant to date; the percentage of application per apprentices registered in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32437/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The introduction of a new Employer Grant of €2,000 per apprentice per annum is a significant deliverable under the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025. Its introduction means that, for the first time, employers of all apprentices will now have access to financial support, either through direct payment of allowances to apprentices or through this employer grant. In this way, employers of all apprentices will have some of the cost of the apprenticeship defrayed, promoting engagement with the non-craft programmes and balancing Government priorities in terms of meeting strategic skills needs through targeted interventions. It will also encourage more employers to engage with a wider range of apprenticeships and help to encourage the development of new programmes.

The Employer Grant provides financial support from the State to apprentice employers of one of the 40 apprenticeships that have been established since 2016 and do not attract payment of off-the-job training allowances.

The grant was officially launched on the 26 May 2022. Eligible employers were invited by email to apply for the grant via an online portal system. With social media, TV, and radio campaigns planned and launched to promote the grant, it is anticipated that a high level of applications will be made.

As of June 16 2022;

- 70 employer applications with 126 eligible apprentices have been received 

- 30 employer applications with  46 eligible apprentices have been paid

Further details of claims per apprenticeship programme and associated percentages are included in tabular form in the attached table.