Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1285. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of apprenticeship registrations in the construction sector in each of the years 2015 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40469/21]
View answerCovid-19 and the closure of the construction sector in March 2020 impacted heavily on apprentice registrations. Registrations recovered in the second half of the year with the support of the Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme, reaching a total of 3,104 registrations on construction related apprenticeships by year end 2020. As of end June 2021, there have been 2,083 new registrations compared with 1,695 at end June 2019 and 1,085 at end June 2020.
The July Jobs Stimulus allocated funding to the Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme which provides a grant of €3,000 payable over two years to employers who take on apprentices during 2020 and retain them into 2021. The Scheme has now been extended to include all apprentices registered to the end of this year.
The number of apprenticeship registrations in the construction sector from 2015 to date is set out in the attached spreadsheet.
