Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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884. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the completion percentages in apprenticeship courses at third level, in tabular form. [35974/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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885. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the apprenticeship courses available at third level; and the number of apprentices enrolled, in tabular form. [35975/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 884 and 885 together.

Currently, there are 77 national apprenticeship programmes available spanning from level 5 to level 10 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).

The programmes cover an extensive variety of areas that feed into the development of the growing Irish economy. This ranges from construction and engineering to health, hospitality, finance, information technology and agriculture, among others. A full list of the programmes is set out below, grouped by apprenticeship family and indicating NFQ level as well as including population figures for each programme.

Between 2019 and 2024 there have been 19,317 completions in apprenticeship programmes.

The complexities of the demand led apprenticeship system, with continuous intake and multiple course durations, compounded by previous delays for craft apprentices at phase two, mean that commencement data is not currently divided into cohorts to enable calculation of completion percentage. Initial SOLAS analysis suggests that completion rates are broadly comparable to those in the higher education system.

John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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886. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if any consideration has been given towards increasing the grant available to companies for the employment of an apprentice as part of an apprenticeship programme. [35990/25]

John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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887. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if any consideration has been given towards increasing the grant available to companies for the employment of an apprentice as part of an apprenticeship programme. [35991/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 886 and 887 together.

The Government is committed to ensuring that employers continue to value apprenticeships and are incentivised to participate in apprenticeship programmes across all sectors of the economy.

The department’s Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 recognised that the cost of training is a potential barrier to employer participation in apprenticeships. To support employers with training costs, a €2,000 employer grant was launched in 2022 for employers of consortia-led apprentices. Since the introduction of this grant, yearly registrations on consortia-led apprenticeships have risen from 1,652 in 2021 to 2,239 in 2024.

This grant is intended to contribute to the cost of employing apprentices in order to improve the cost-benefit argument for the apprenticeship option when businesses are making recruitment decisions.

Targeted financial supports are also available to supplement employer grants to encourage the employment of underrepresented groups into apprenticeship programmes.

In line with commitments within the Programme for Government, the Department will be developing and launching a new 5-year Apprenticeship Action Plan to set a strategic vision for the apprenticeship system from 2026 to 2030.