Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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180. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason phase 2 apprentices in the engineering industry are only paid €202 a week when all other apprentices in other industries are paid at a much higher rate, and have received increases recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32879/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Craft apprentices are employees and are paid directly by their employer during the “on-the-job” training phases of their apprenticeship. Craft apprentice gross wage norms differ for different sectors. They are set through collective bargaining, and may be underpinned by sectoral employment orders. Neither SOLAS nor my department are involved in the setting of wages for craftspersons.

When craft apprentices attend “off-the-job” training in Education and Training Board or Higher Education facilities they receive a fortnightly State-paid training allowance. This is not a wage and there is no contract of employment between SOLAS and the apprentice. The State training allowance is aligned to gross wage norms for the industry in which the apprentice is employed and to the phase or year of training the apprentice is in. The engineering sector has not been able to set gross wage norms for apprentices through collective bargaining.