Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 October 2022
102. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Solas painting and decorating apprentices have to travel to Dublin to complete their classroom-based training due to nowhere else in the country being able to facilitate this (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51719/22]
View answerApprenticeships are employer led demand-driven educational and training programmes that aim to develop the skills of an apprentice in order to meet the needs of industry and the labour market. As apprentices are employees the demand for and number of apprentices is primarily dictated by the employer base in a sector.
Apprenticeships are offered by employers throughout the country. Off-the-job training for the 25 craft apprenticeship programmes is held in Training Centres and Institutes of Technology/Technological Universities, with certain locations specialising in specific apprenticeship programmes due to the need for specific workshop equipment and trainer expertise.
While efforts are made to offer training within reasonable distances of an apprentice’s geographical location, for some off the job training programmes this is not always possible.
The number of new apprenticeship registrations for the so-called "wet trades" including painting and decorating dropped during the last economic downturn and has not recovered at the same rate as other construction trades. As of September 2022, within an overall population of craft apprentices of 21,190, there is a total of 106 apprentices undertaking an apprenticeship in painting and decorating, with only 12 apprentices newly registered to date this year.
Given the relatively small numbers of annual registrations for the painter and decorating apprenticeship it is not currently feasible or cost-effective to offer off-the-job training phase in multiple locations.
It should be noted that where apprentices are required to move from their current place of residence in order to take up a training place they can apply for an accommodation allowance amounting to a maximum of €69.90 per week, in addition to their weekly training allowance, for the duration of the training phase.
