Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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69. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures being taken to address the delays with apprentices, including pipefitter apprentices, completing their studies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14104/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Craft apprenticeships are a vital route to qualification and employment for the construction sector, and strong employer demand has led to a 34% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations since 2019, increasing from 5,300 in 2019 to 7,100 in 2024.

My Department continues to oversee the implementation of a priority plan put in place in November 2023 by the National Apprenticeship Office (NAO) to expand apprenticeship capacity and reduce apprentice waiting times for training.

As a result, I pleased to say that the number of craft apprentices waiting six months or longer for phase 2 off-the-job training has fallen by 79% since the implementation of the NAO plan – from 5,319 in October 2023 to 1,140 in February 2025.

To successfully remedy the issue, significant resources were invested in expanding the apprenticeship system.

Budget 2024 and Budget 2025 allocated an additional €67 million and €77 million respectively to apprenticeship delivery, bringing the total apprenticeship current budget to €339 million.

This investment enabled the recruitment of over 110 new apprentice instructor staff, and the conversion of over 80 instructors from fixed term to permanent contracts to support retention.

These measures have led to a 43% increase in craft training places in Education and Training Boards, rising from 5600 at the end of 2023 to some 8,000 in 2025.

As at the end of February 2025 there were 414 pipefitting apprentices nationally. Of those 38 apprentices were eligible for phase 2 training following completion of phase 1, 17 apprentices were eligible for phase 4 training following completion of phase 3, and 2 apprentices were eligible for training at phase 6. SOLAS have advised that there is sufficient pipefitting training capacity in the national apprenticeship system to provide a training place in a timely manner based on current registration levels.

My priority is to ensure craft training capacity meets skills needs now and into the future, and my department has directed the NAO to implement a robust monitoring system for craft training capacity by trade.