Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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206. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current number of first year, second year, third year, and fourth year apprentices who have completed the required on-the-job training for that year, but have yet to be called by Solas to undertake their block release training, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50833/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Currently, the median aggregate completion time for an apprenticeship is 228 weeks, including a 12 to 16 week period required for Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) validation and processing, indicating that most apprentices are completing their apprenticeship within a timely period.

Craft apprenticeships involve scheduled off-the-job training according to the specific programme and agreements between the apprentice, employer, and training provider. Apprentices must complete a minimum of 208 weeks of continuous employment and successfully pass through seven phases, each serving as a prerequisite for the next. The off-the-job training at phases 2, 4, and 6 totals 40 weeks, which constitutes 20% of the entire apprenticeship programme.

Unlike other educational programmes, craft apprenticeships do not have fixed intake periods. Apprentices can be registered by their employers at any time of the year and they are scheduled for off-the-job training based on their registration date. The minimum times provided are guidelines to ensure sufficient exposure to all necessary components at each phase. An apprentice who has successfully completed the minimum on-the-job training period becomes eligible for scheduling to the next off-the-job phase. Therefore, neither off-the-job nor on-the-job components are defined in years of study.

However, I can provide numbers for apprentices currently eligible for phases 2, 4 and 6 off-the-job training. These figures are provided in tabular form below. All figures are for end-August 2025. In the context of the below figures, it is important to note that apprentices being eligible for off-the-job training does not necessarily mean that there is a delay - it is necessary to have a healthy pipeline of apprentices eligible for off-the-job training to ensure that this training can be scheduled efficiently, and cost effectively.