Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
5. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the steps he is taking to tackle the growing backlog of apprenticeship off the job training. [9107/24]
View answerI am asking this question again. Regarding the backlog of apprenticeships for off-the-job training, can the Minister of State update us on what he is doing to tackle this?
I thank the Deputy for her question. We have a singular focus on securing sustained reductions in waiting times for apprenticeship training. There has been a significant reduction in the number of apprentices waiting longer than six months for their off-the-job training. The backlog stood at 3,817 in January 2024. It was as high as 5,212 in in August 2023. The progress achieved results from a cross-sectoral plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office for 2024. It is essential that this progress is maintained.
Successful delivery of priority Government strategies such as the national development plan, Housing for All and the Climate Action Plan require significant growth in our apprenticeship training capacity. There is now also a strong and growing recognition of apprenticeship as a valuable employment and skills opportunity, reflected in a 25% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations from 5,271 in 2019 to 6,588 in 2023.
Increased funding of €67 million allocated to apprenticeship secured through the Estimates for this year, bringing total investment to €300 million, is a vital step in building the capacity required to reduce delays in apprenticeship training and meet future training requirements. Key specific actions taken to address the backlog under the plan include education and training boards, ETBs, being mandated to deliver three intakes of apprentices a year, increasing capacity from over 5,500 places in 2023 to over 8,900 in 2024, a 60% increase. A targeted national recruitment campaign for more than 100 craft apprenticeship instructors is under way. In conclusion, it is our priority to not only respond to the backlog, but to ensure the system is right-sized to deliver future demand for skilled tradespeople.
The Minister and Minister of State have spoken positively about improving the output of craft apprenoticeships. They have also widened the opportunities for people to pursue consortia apprenticeships. However, the current situation is simply not good enough for those seeking off-the-job training. There are around 9,000 people waiting for levels 2, 4 and 6 training, which is a crazy figure.
I have been inundated with messages from young craft apprentices who have been waiting for long periods of time, which is, naturally, very frustrating for them. People have told me they have been waiting for three years, which is a significant amount of time especially when we want to keep people in the sector. For much of that time people are earning sub-minimum wage rates because they cannot complete their off-the-job training. A concern expressed to me was that while dealing with level 2 off-the-job training, levels 4 and 6 are being pushed back. Can the Minister of State confirm whether that is happening?
It is important to bear in mind that normal waiting times for off-the-job training range from three to six months. That needs to be factored in. At the end of January, there were 8,967 apprentices waiting for training. That included a figure of 3,817 who had waited more than six months. The numbers waiting have significantly reduced from a peak of almost 12,000 apprentices in August 2021.
The Deputy mentioned the craft backlog. In the summer of 2023, some data analysis showed a significant increase in the backlog. In response, we developed a plan to eliminate the backlog which was formed and led by the National Apprenticeship Office and overseen by the Department. The rapid implementation of the response plan meant that the backlog was reduced by the end of January 2024 to a figure of 3,817 I previously mentioned. This is made up of 3,622 phase 2, 100 phase 4 and 95 phase 6 apprentices.
On the issue of people being trained for level 2 off-the-job training, which is welcome, and those seeking level 4 and 6 training, is it the case that people are being moved from levels 4 and 6 off-the-job training in order to accommodate level 2 apprentices? Have I understood that correctly? That issue has been raised with me a number of times. I would like to get an understanding on that.
Registrations are up, which is obviously welcome, but off-the-job training is of huge concern to those impacted, including the impact on their wages. Some people have said it is taking them six years to finish an apprenticeship when it should not take that long. This is an issue of concern. I am interested in hearing whether the current situation affects levels 4 and 6 training.
We do not feel that is an issue. It has not been flagged to me, but we will look at it based on what the Deputy has said here today. As the Deputy knows, the national development plan, Housing for All and our climate action responsibilities and targets are a huge focus for all of us. We put significant resources into building our capacity to address the backlog which, as we know, was all down to Covid. We are not using that as an excuse, but we have to call it as it is. We are making significant inroads.
We are carrying out an instructor recruitment campaign through the National Apprenticeship Office, which has been hugely successful in trying to attract people. Everything that we can possibly do to increase capacity and bring people into off-the-job training more quickly is being done. We also have to protect the quality of the programmes these apprentices are pursuing. That is also paramount. We cannot rush the fences. We have to ensure that people work properly and learn on the job, that their off-the-job training is structured properly, that they get the necessary level of qualification and that we protect the integrity of the qualification.
