Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is this Government’s ambition to right-size apprenticeship capacity in line with labour market demands, the ambitions of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship, and in support of Government objectives under Housing For All, retrofitting, and green skills.

As a demand-led system, there are no restrictions on the number of apprentices that can register. The apprenticeship system is currently responding to a marked increase in demand over the past four years, driven by increasing overall tertiary sector demand, legacy training provision backlogs from the pandemic, and growing demand for skills associated with areas such as construction.

I am fully aware that many craft apprentices are not progressing through their training in line with typical waiting periods. In August this year, 7,578 apprentices were waiting for off-the-job training. Of these 5,257 were waiting longer than six months.

Given these delays, we have to align training capacity with continued strong demand and also implement other measures which will add further capacity.

My Department is working closely with SOLAS and the ETBs to continue to increase training capacity, resulting in 13,000 craft places delivered in 2022. It is intended to deliver some 15,300 places in total this year. With additional funding of €67 million now secured through Budget 2024, I expect training capacity to increase to 16,000 places in 2024 – a significant increase in capacity.

In order to further accelerate and intensify the delivery of increased training capacity, my Department is working on an ongoing basis with SOLAS, the National Apprenticeship Office, the Higher Education Authority, the ETB sector, and union representatives. Through weekly meetings, we are working to devise and successfully implement a funded set of actions to address this very significant and important issue.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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148. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills how many students have started on the new farming apprenticeship in a school (details supplied) respectively; how his Department plans to increase places on apprenticeship programmes such as this moving forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45551/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’ sets out new ways of structuring, funding, and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship more accessible to employers and learners. Expansion to date has widened the impact of apprenticeship to areas of skills shortage such as agriculture, engineering, technology skills, logistics, and fintech. It will also support skills development in key areas, especially in construction skills, and assist with achieving delivery of Government commitments on Housing for All, and the Climate Action Plan.

2021 figures showed 8,607 registrations – an increase of 40% on figures for 2019 (the last full pre-Covid year). 2022 saw 8,286 registrations and a population of over 26,000, and this strong growth in apprentice registrations is continuing into 2023, with over 6,000 registrations by end-September. The population is currently over 26,200 apprentices.

The Agriculture and Horticulture sector is a thriving area of expansion in apprenticeships. Arboriculture has been available since 2020, joined in May this year by Sportsturf Management. In August, I announced the launch of three additional apprenticeships – Farm Manager, Farm Technician, and Horticulture. In the pipeline, there is also an apprenticeship in Stud Farm Management in development.

In terms of the roll out of the current programmes, I can advise the following latest updates:

• The registration process for both the Farm Technician and the Farm Manager programme is still in progress for some employers and apprentices.
• The first block release date for the Farm Manager Apprenticeship will be 4 December. The Farm Manager Apprenticeship is being co-ordinated by Teagasc Kildalton College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny.
• Dates are to be confirmed for the Farm Technician first block release. This apprenticeship will be coordinated from Teagasc Clonakilty College, Co. Cork.
• Meanwhile, the Horticulture Apprenticeship is being coordinated by Teagasc - National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin; the Sportsturf Management Apprenticeship is being coordinated by Teagasc Kildalton College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny; and the Arboriculture Apprenticeship is coordinated by the Galway Roscommon Education and Training Board.

The Government aims to significantly increase the footprint of apprenticeship within the education landscape, ensuring that apprenticeships are open and accessible and are seen as a viable and exciting path to skills and a qualification.