Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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633. 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. [40202/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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My Department is continuing to oversee the implementation of a plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office to significantly increase apprenticeship capacity and respond to rising craft apprenticeship registrations as a result of our buoyant economy.

As of end-August 2024, a total of 2,484 craft apprentices are waiting six months or longer for Phase 2 off-the-job training this represents a 53% decrease since the implementation of the plan from 5,319 in October 2023 to 2,484 in August 2024. This figure consists of 2,327 apprentices waiting 6-11 months and 157 waiting 12 months or longer.

The 2,484 total figure is broken down by apprenticeship type and the number of months waiting, in tabular form, in the attached PDF document.

It should be noted that waiting lists are an essential 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 waiting for multiple reasons. For example, because some apprentices do not accept the first offer of off-the-job training places that they receive. Waiting lists also allows for places not taken up by apprentices who choose to decline a training offer, which they can opt to do up to three times, to still be filled from the list.

Craft apprenticeships take 48 months to complete. My Department is initiating a review of the optimum craft apprenticeship training timelines within those 48 months.

This Government is committed to growing apprenticeship and my Department secured a significant investment of €77.4m into the apprenticeship system in Budget 2025. This represents the single largest investment in core apprenticeship funding since the formation of my Department in 2020 and, since then, investment in apprenticeship has increased by 83%.

It remains my priority to maintain this momentum, to continue growing the apprenticeship system, and ensure that there are enough training places for current and future skills needs.