Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 March 2023
95. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide details of any engagement he has had with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with a view to further expanding apprenticeships in the agricultural sector, for example, in the wool sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15753/23]
View answerApprenticeship is a demand-driven educational and training programme that aims to develop the skills of an apprentice in order to meet the needs of industry and the labour market. The development of new apprenticeships is employer-led. Employer groups and educational providers come together forming a consortia to identify a skills need and appropriate apprenticeship response in their sector.
As the Deputy may be aware, until recently there has been a long-standing legislative impediment to farming apprenticeships. This reflected the fact that under the Industrial Training Act, 1967, the development of apprenticeship programmes in “an activity of agriculture, horticulture or fishing which is an activity of primary production, or any activity of a professional occupation” was prohibited.
This statutory provision ruled out the scope to develop and implement apprenticeship programmes in these important areas where there are significant opportunities to build the skills of the workforce.
I am delighted to advise the Deputy that under the Higher Education Authority Bill, 2022 which has recently been approved by the Oireachtas, I have ensured that this legislative barrier to the establishment of apprenticeship programmes for these occupations has been removed.
In advance and in anticipation of this legislative change, apprenticeship consortia had commenced the development of the following programmes: Farm Manager, Farm Technician and Advanced Horticulture.
Development work on the three apprenticeship programmes is ongoing and programme documentation has been submitted to QQI to progress through the validation process. Teagasc will work with employers to train them in apprenticeship management during 2023 and students will be accepted from September. Further details of the programmes, including locations where the training will be provided, will be available once the validation and legislative processes are finalised.
These new apprenticeships, which will have off-the-job training delivered through online or blended learning, provide a significant opportunity for widening of access to apprenticeship for rural businesses and learners and will play a very important role in ensuring apprenticeship provision has a strong regional dimension. I am very grateful for all the work of all the stakeholders involved in bringing the apprenticeship model into one of the most important sectors of the economy.
Currently, there is no specific apprenticeship for the wool industry and officials in my Department are not aware of any such apprenticeship in development or being considered. However, this does not prevent a future consortium of employer groups and educational providers from forming a new consortium around the concept of developing an apprenticeship for this sector. The SOLAS Guidance Document for Submitting an Initial Proposal for a New National Apprenticeship together with their Handbook on Developing a National Apprenticeship provide an overview of the key features of new apprenticeships, including sectoral engagement and collaboration among enterprises and other stakeholders in the relevant industry. These publications are available on www.apprenticeship.ie.
