Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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646. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the degree to which he continues to make provision for an increased number of technical graduates/apprentices in order to meet the needs of individual sectors in industry with particular reference to the construction sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40296/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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My Department's focus is to ensure that workers have the skills required to deliver Government priorities, including for residential construction and retrofitting and the National Development Plan. This can only be achieved by working with industry to ensure that construction skills provision matches identified needs.

My officials work with partners such as the Construction Industry Federation, the National Construction Training Campus (under Laois-Offaly ETB), SOLAS, Education and Training Boards and professional representative bodies to address the matter. There has been a significant expansion of relevant courses, including apprenticeships, as well as the development of new provision to address innovations such as modern methods of construction.

This Government significantly invested to grow the apprenticeship system. Budget 2024 provided €67m which has provided core investment into the apprenticeship system and allowed apprenticeships to continue to grow. Apprentice registrations were 8,712 at end of 2023, up 5% on end of 2022 and up 41% from 2019. Craft apprenticeship registrations increased from 5,271 in 2019 to 6,588 in 2023, a 25% increase.

In Budget 2025, my Department secured another significant investment of €77.4m for apprenticeship. This is the single largest investment in core apprenticeship funding since the formation of my Department in 2020. Indeed, since 2020, investment in apprenticeship has increased by 83%.

The funding will support skills development in vital areas, and in construction skills in particular, supporting delivery of Government commitments in Housing for All, Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025, National Development Plan, and the Climate Action Plan.

The total number serving an apprenticeship at the end of August 2024 is 27,548. Currently there are 77 national apprenticeships available, between NFQ levels 5 and 10. This is up from 53 national programmes in 2019, representing a significant increase in choice for learners and employers alike. 31 of the 77 national apprenticeships are construction or construction related. There has been a 34% increase in craft training capacity in Education and Training Boards to date in 2024, increasing from 5,600 places in December 2023 to over 7,500 currently.

Adding to 25 traditional craft programmes, consortia-led apprenticeships has been developed from 2016 onwards in response to emerging occupational profiles, and are providing employment, career development and a pathway to a recognised qualification for apprentices across 50 plus occupations. This year has seen the first registrations in the Advanced Quantity Surveyor Apprenticeship (Level 9).

A further 23 national apprenticeship programmes are in development, with 9 being relevant to the Construction sector. These include apprenticeships in Civil Engineering (Levels 8 & 9), Geospatial Survey Technician (L6) and Roofing and Cladding.

Under Springboard+ 2023/2024, there are 2,100 people enrolled in construction related courses with 1,125 of these having completed their course to date this year. Graduate figures for construction under Springboard+2022/2023 show 1,945 graduates for the academic year 2022/2023.

Under HCI Pillar 1 2023/2024 (Full-Time Graduate Conversion Courses) current figures show 210 students have completed construction related courses, with total figures of completed construction related courses at 387 for HCI Pillar 1 2022/2023.

The Human Capital Initiative (HCI) has a strong focus on innovation and agility, ensuring the education system as a whole, are in a position to respond positively to the challenges and opportunities ahead. HCI Pillar 3 promotes innovative and responsive models of programme delivery, and will enable the higher education system to respond rapidly to changes in both skills requirements and technology in the construction sector. These were 87 courses in construction and construction related areas introduced to date as a result of HCI P3.

Under the Micro-Credentials Learner Fee Subsidy, which was launched in March 2024 and subsidises fees for 13,763 learners across 650 micro-credential courses, there are 56 courses in construction and construction related areas offering 905 places for 2024.

In addition, Skillnet Ireland – the workforce development agency – provides training and development solutions specifically for the sector through its construction related networks. Industry 4.0 Skillnet and University of Galway recently launched two cutting-edge programmes designed to meet the evolving needs of the sector.

The Level 9 Postgraduate Certificate in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and the Level 8 Specialist Diploma in Automation and Control aim to equip current and future construction professionals with the skills and knowledge required to drive innovation and sustainability in the industry. Both programmes will equip students with modern methods of construction skills in a number of areas for new builds and retrofits.

This provision will be further enhanced following the publication last July of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs MMC recommendations. My Department is leading on the development of a corresponding action plan, which will include the development of new carer pathways and other training.

Collectively, the measures outlined above are playing a very important role in responding to the skills requirements of industry.