Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

349. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to indicate the total number of apprentices currently available; the extent to which this is sufficient to meet requirements; the progress in introducing new apprenticeship programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2339/24]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Increasing the number of apprentices and apprenticeships is crucial in meeting the targets this Government has set under Housing for All and the Climate Action Plan. A key target in our Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 is of 10,000 new apprentice registrations every year and we are very close to reaching that target with close to 9,000 last year.

We expect to increase apprenticeship capacity across the country this year to meet demand, with particular emphasis on craft programmes. Phase 2 training capacity in 2023 was 5,613 places. Close to 10,000 training places for phase 2 craft apprentices are planned for 2024, almost doubling the capacity. The objective in 2024 is to eliminate the delays in full, working closely month-on-month with ETB, TU and IoT training providers, and with the support of industry.

The population of apprentices and the number of registrations for the period to end of December 2023 is shown below:

We want to make apprenticeships as accessible and available as possible and encourage the development of new apprenticeship programmes across all areas of the economy.

There were seven new apprenticeship programmes introduced in 2023, in areas as diverse as farming, engineering, and quantity surveying. There are now 73 programmes available in Ireland. For 2024, 17 new apprenticeship programmes are proposed, including four in the area of construction. A further five programmes are to be confirmed or planned to begin in 2025.

Details of these programmes are shown in the tables below: