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Apprenticeship Programmes

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 April 2022

Wednesday, 6 April 2022

Questions (169)

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

169. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the average cost to the Exchequer for each craft apprentice and consortia-led apprentice each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18867/22]

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Written answers

The Government is committed under the Action Plan to working with employers to promote, enable, and support the recruitment and training of apprentices. There is a very substantial allocation of resources to apprenticeships drawing on the funding raised through the Employer Training Levy into the National Training Fund. Therefore, apprenticeships are not a direct cost to the exchequer.

In 2019, the last pre-Covid full year, registrations were at 6,177. 2020 saw 5,326 registrations, and by 2021 there were a record 8,607 registrations. The associated expenditure for those years was €160m in 2019, €184 in 2020, and €198m in 2021. The 2022 budget allocation for apprenticeship is €206m.

Calculating a cost-per-apprentice is a complex matter involving fixed costs, such as programme development costs, and variable costs per participating apprentice. The nature of specific apprenticeships is also an influencing factor. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform published a Spending Review of Apprenticeships in 2019. This estimated the average annual cost per apprentice in craft apprenticeships at €7,159 and €9,877 for consortia-led programmes.

[igees.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Review-of-Participation-and-Costs-of-Apprenticeships.pdf]

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