I am sure other panel members here will have perspectives on these matters as well.
It is important to note that one of the big achievements of the review of apprenticeships in 2013-14 was to conceive of apprenticeship more as a mode of learning as opposed to a particular skill that operates in a particular sector. For a long number of years, there were no new apprenticeships developed. They were essentially within the construction and engineering sectors, and that goes to some of the issues with recruitment.
The intention in implementing the recommendations of the review was that apprenticeship would offer a much broader range of opportunities for participants, both in terms of educational progression, so that the qualifications they would receive would be a pathway into higher education, and career progression of various types. It was also the intention that it would involve the participation of a wide range of education and training providers so that a person could be an apprentice in a higher education institution. We have a couple of universities, for example, getting involved in apprenticeship. To some extent, the dichotomy between apprenticeship on the one hand and higher education on the other is something we are working to break down.
The broadening out of apprenticeship into new sectors should also offer opportunities to get involved in the apprenticeship system to those who do a range of different subjects in school and have a range of different interests. I have spoken to young apprentices. Female apprentices say of the opportunities for them to go into apprenticeships that, apart from cultural issues and issues with employer attitudes, they went to all-girls schools and it was not only a matter of access to careers information, guidance, etc., but also that, in practical terms, the subjects they could take did not give them access to apprenticeship opportunities.
The social mix around apprenticeship is interesting. In many countries, apprenticeship is something that operates at upper secondary level within schools where a student gets to the equivalent of the junior certificate here and decides to go either the academic or vocational route. In Ireland, it is different. Even in the craft apprenticeships, over 70% of entrants have completed the leaving certificate. It is not a choice that people tend to make midway through their second level schooling. In response to Senator Ruane, I do not have figures.
I think it would be a useful exercise. We have lots of markers around educational achievement before people enter an apprenticeship from which, unfortunately, certain inferences around social background could be made. The broadening out of the range of apprenticeship opportunities is intended to give those who enter apprenticeship a broader range of opportunities to move onwards but also to make apprenticeship available to a much broader range of people. That is not to say that we just deal with an issue such as female participation in apprenticeship by saying we will have apprenticeships in areas that have much higher rates of female employment. There is a job to be done in respect of the craft apprenticeships as well and around young women seeing themselves as having roles in the construction industry, engineering and motor mechanics. The generation apprenticeship campaign tries to push those female role models. I often think that where a female apprentice is in motor mechanics or engineering, the system leans quite heavily on her as a role model to speak about her experience and to give advice and direction to others.
Apprenticeship is complex in terms of growing the numbers. There are no apprenticeships without employers taking people on. There is a two-pronged issue in terms of generating interest for people to enter apprenticeships but also getting employers to engage. Some of the incentive issues for employers are relevant. Different apprenticeships bring about different experiences. Many people are interested in getting involved in some of the newer apprenticeships in particular, but the struggle is to get enough places with employers. There are other apprenticeships where there is a lot of employer interest and less interest from potential apprentices and learners. The situation varies across apprenticeships. Places in higher education must be funded. The number of places can grow with the significant efforts that have been made by higher education institutions, but it is more complex to grow places in apprenticeship because employers must be recruited.
Deputy Funchion made a very good point about the visibility of opportunities. Regrettably, a lot of apprenticeship recruitment is never seen by potential learners. Employers take people on in the same way as they employ people more generally. Some of it happens through word of mouth. Social capital and other such issues become important in that regard in terms of the people who are aware of what is happening.
The pathways to apprenticeship approach proposes a number of ways to deal with that, including having an apprenticeship marketplace where those opportunities are more clearly visible. SOLAS is working on that now. That would also help give the Intreo offices and the social welfare service better visibility of apprenticeship opportunities than is the case at present.
The Department of Education and Skills meets the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection on a range of issues in terms of the participation of people in education and training, those who are unemployed or those who are on a range of other payments, for example, single parents or those with disabilities and various other groups. We advocate strongly for longer-term interventions for apprenticeship that would make real differences in people's lives, but other people who have significant skills and shorter interventions may be more appropriate in that regard.
In terms of apprenticeship and the intersection between it and some of the supports that were mentioned, apprentices are paid and they are employees. I recognise that they are not always paid a lot but they are in a slightly different position than perhaps somebody who comes straight from school who has no income. Apprentices are paid by their employers. Nonetheless, there are very practical issues and there are probably broader issues around the taking up of employment by people in particular situations. Reference was made to childcare. The affordable childcare scheme is intended to enable women with caring responsibilities who want to become involved in the labour market to be supported into employment, and one of the types of employment we are talking about is apprenticeship.
Community education is an important means of bringing people into all sorts of education and training opportunities, through full-time programmes and certified learning into full-time further education and training programmes, and onwards into higher education and apprenticeship. I am more than willing to engage separately on the issue but, typically, people on community education would not be in a position where they would need to pay fees. However, I am more than happy to engage with Deputy Funchion on the issue. There is sometimes an issue around the providers themselves who raise the cost of accessing certification given the fees that are involved in them registering with Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, for example.