Vol. 514 No. 1
77 Mr. Boylan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of people in apprenticeship schemes at the end of January 2000; the phase these apprentices are at; and if she will make a statement on recent reports that apprentices cannot continue with their training due to the fact they cannot avail of educational places in the training institutions. [3481/00]
115 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of people in apprenticeship schemes at the end of January 2000; the phase these apprentices are at; if she will make a statement on recent reports that apprentices cannot continue with their training due to the fact they cannot avail of educational places in the training institutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3552/00]
122 Mr. Callely asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to any of the difficulties which people experience in obtaining an apprenticeship; the number of apprenticeships available in 2000; if there are sufficient places available to meet demand; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3604/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 77, 115 and 122 together.
Apprentices are recruited directly by employers in line with their present and projected needs and for this reason it is not possible to quantify what the intake will be for any given year; there are no indications so far this year, however, of a decrease in apprenticeship intake.
I have not been made aware of difficulties in obtaining apprenticeships, the numbers taking up apprenticeship have almost doubled since 1996. This unprecedented increase in numbers, has created capacity problems in off-the-job training phases – two, four, and six – resulting in delays in scheduling training provision. for apprentices. FÁS and the education sector have been significantly expanding their capacities to address this issue and there are proposals in train to reduce the current bottlenecks.
At the end of January 2000 the population of those in apprenticeship was 21,194. The numbers in the various phases are as follows: phase 1 – 6,290; phase 2 – 2,461; phase 3 – 5,106; phase 4 – 1,282; phase 5 – 3,569; phase 6 – 814; phase 7 – 1,672.
My Department is working closely with FÁS and the Department of Education and Science to monitor the situation and put in place the measures necessary to respond to the current unprecedented demand for apprentices.
