Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

31. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is aware of delays in apprenticeship completion in Cork; and how he plans to resolve this. [23337/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Strong endorsement for the craft apprenticeship system by employers, combined with the growth in construction sector activity, has driven a 25% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations since 2019.

My Department is overseeing the implementation of a plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office (NAO) which has, to date, nearly halved the number of craft apprentices waiting more than 6 months for their phase 2 off-the-job training from 5,319 in October 2023 to 2,976 in April 2024.

Craft apprenticeships takes 48 months to complete. Apprentice completion times in Cork ETB are not readily available, however, if the Deputy has any specific concerns, I am happy to follow up directly. Out of 25 craft apprenticeship programmes, two programmes, Pipe-fitting and Electrical Instrumentation currently take significantly over 48 months to complete and impact on 279 apprentices nationally who are waiting for off-the-job training.

Significant resources are being invested to further increase the capacity of the apprenticeship training system.

€67m was allocated in Budget 2024 bringing total investment in 2024 to €298m. €17m capital investment was made in 2023 to expand provision in current facilities, develop new facilities, and for equipment.

Apprenticeship funding in Cork ETB rose from €17.1m in 2023 to €17.9m in 2024.

The NAO are leading a national recruitment campaign which has resulted in 58 new instructor posts so far and with more to be advertised when capital projects come on-stream. In addition over 80 instructor posts have been converted from fixed term to permanent to help support retention.

ETBs have been mandated by SOLAS to commence three apprenticeship intakes per workshop per year to support the delivery of the NAO plan.

As a direct result of these actions, apprenticeship delivery capacity in ETBs has grown substantially from 5,613 in 2023 to 7,545 in April 2024, a 34% increase.

Cork ETB are increasing their craft apprenticeship provision from some 400 training places in 2023 to over 600 training places in 2024 across 10 craft programmes and delivered by 29 craft apprentice instructors.

It is my priority to continue growing the apprenticeship system both in Cork and nationally, and to ensure that there are enough training places for current and future skills needs.