Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 March 2022
50. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the details of the impact of the inclusion of all post-school options in the CAO system; the number of additional applicants there were in 2022 due to this expansion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12713/22]
View answerA key goal for my Department is to enhance the profile and visibility of further education and training (FET) and apprenticeship options. The developments introduced to the CAO website allow school leavers explore all options across the third level system. It is very important to help and encourage students to identify what education and training options best meet their career and life goals in light of the broad range of opportunities available across the whole tertiary education system.
My Department is continuing to assess the impact of the changes made to the CAO website to this end given as the Deputy is aware the this year's CAO process is at an early stage. There were 78,162 higher education course applicants registered by 1st February compared to 79,303 last year. However, the 1st February normal application deadline does not apply to FET courses. The CAO FET Portal developed for the 720 PLC courses included in the 2022 application process, is being managed through FETCH/PLSS, the centralised course application system for 16 Education and Training Boards. This Portal will operate until 1st July and applicants applying after that date will be redirected to make direct entry via fetchcourses.ie.
For apprenticeship options, where students can be hired by approved employers throughout the year, the CAO website links to apprenticeship.ie, a one-stop-shop website for information and guidance on apprenticeships. There were a record 8,607 new apprentice registrations last year.
My Department is in receipt of information on website traffic from cao.ie/options since the launch last November. The results are encouraging with 14,276 site visits to fetchcourses.ie and 26,439 site visits to apprenticeship.ie by 1st March.
We will continue to monitor the project with a view to further developing and expanding CAO FET offers building on the experience of the 2022 application process.
Also, in line with the strategic objective of building a well-functioning unified knowledge and skills system across further and higher education, research and innovation, my Department is identifying an initial set of actions to realise that objective and promote unity across the various sectors. I intend to bring greater detail on the development of this policy to Government in the coming weeks.
