Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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2589.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will he provide a breakdown, by county, of the number of craft apprentices currently waiting for off-the-job training, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30887/24]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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2655.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of apprentices waiting for off-the-job training, broken down by apprenticeship type, and the number of months waiting, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33345/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2589 and 2655 together.

The number of craft apprentices waiting over 6 months for phase 2 off-the-job training at the end of June 2024 has been provided. Separate breakdowns have been provided by apprenticeship programme and by the Educational Training Board (ETB) that apprentices are registered with.

Craft apprenticeship are national programmes, and while apprentices are registered at the ETB in the region in which their employer is based, their off-the-job training may be carried out elsewhere, depending on the training options available in each ETB.

Waiting lists are used as part of the scheduling process to ensure that planning and resources are in place to meet the demand of apprentices in the system, and that apprentices are eligible to move to their next phase. Apprentices are not eligible for phase 2 training until they have completed a minimum time of 3 months in phase 1 and have completed induction training and have approval from their employer, meaning that the usual waiting time for an apprentice for phase 2 training is between 3 to 6 months.

My Department is overseeing the implementation of a plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office 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 2,827 in June 2024.

This Department’s priority is to reduce the length of time that a craft apprentice waits overlong for phase 2 off-the-job training.

Table 1 - Craft apprentice waiting numbers: phase 2, longer than 6 months by Programme

Table 2 - Craft apprentice waiting numbers: phase 2, longer than 6 months by ETB registration

CDETB - City of Dublin ETB

CETB - Cork ETB

CMETB - Cavan Monaghan ETB

DDLETB - Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB

DETB - Donegal ETB

GRETB - Galway Roscommon ETB

KCETB - Kilkenny Carlow ETB

KWETB - Kildare Wicklow ETB

KETB - Kerry ETB

LCETB - Limerick Clare ETB

LMETB - Louth Meath ETB

LOETB - Laois Offaly ETB

LWETB - Longford Westmeath ETB

MSLETB - Mayo Sligo Leitrim ETB

TETB - Tipperary ETB

WWETB - Waterford Wexford ETB