Vol. 524 No. 1
28 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the average delay in FÁS apprentices completing their training; the average delay in receiving placement for phase 2, 4 and 6 by trade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21642/00]
The nominal duration of apprenticeship is four years. With the exception of those who fail or refuse to attend training, the majority of apprentices complete their training within this period. In this case, therefore, the issue of delays in the completion of training is not significant.
Issues have arisen, however, in regard to the timeliness of provision of off the job training at phases two, four and six of the seven phase standards based apprenticeship system. The quantification of those delays is extremely complex and is affected by the date on which an apprentice was registered with FÁS, the number of apprentices looking for off the job training in any designated trade at a particular time, the geographical location in which the apprentice is employed and in which the training is provided, the attendance of apprentices and the releasing of apprentices by their employers and finally by the availability of training capacity for the trade.
In the latter regard, concerted efforts are under way to reduce waiting times. All apprentices are being offered a phase 2 training place within the first year of their apprenticeship. The number of apprentices currently eligible to attend for phase 4 and 6 training stands at 2,830, all of whom will be offered training by January 2001.
