Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 October 2023
78. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the current number of apprentices waiting for off-the-job training at levels 2, 4 and 6 in addition to the numbers waiting for such training in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45695/23]
View answerI have put this parliamentary question in since the start of September and have not got the kind of response I was looking for. It relates to the number of apprentices waiting for off-the-job training at levels 2, 4 and 6. I have sought a tabular breakdown, which I obviously will not get in oral questions. Will the Minister of State clarify why I cannot get that as a response at all?
I hope the reply will be of use to the Deputy. The Department has placed an unrelenting focus on the area of apprenticeships. One of the first actions the Minister, Deputy Harris, and I took was to publish a dedicated action plan for apprenticeships to drive this important reform. The impact has been clear. The growth in apprenticeships in recent years has been significant. Since 2021, more than 22,000 people have started their journey as apprentices. Craft apprenticeship registrations for 2022 and 2021 were totalled 13,254, an increase of almost 40% on the preceding two years.
This increased demand has posed challenges for the system at a time it has been dealing with the impact of Covid-19. At the end of September, 5,345 apprentices were waiting longer than six months to access off-the-job training. Of those, 5,194 were at phase 2, while the remainder were at phases 4 and 6.
In budget 2024, we have received a €67 million investment in the apprenticeship system. This will enable growth in the craft apprenticeship training system from 13,000 in 2022 to more than 16,000 places in 2024. That represents an increase of almost 25%. This will allow SOLAS, the National Apprenticeship Office, NAO, and the education and training boards, ETBs, together with staff representatives, to work intensively with our Department to deliver the required additional apprenticeship training capacity to ensure the reductions waiting times, in particular for phase 2 training. The Department holds weekly meetings with stakeholders in the area and the Minister and I will meet SOLAS and the NAO again next week to discuss the impact of the budget investment.
I still do not understand why I could not get the response in writing at the start of September. I have never seen it happen before that I have not been able to get a response when I have continuously asked the exact same question and the exact same response was given. It really annoyed me. The Ministers have taken their eye off the ball. The response I got after much pestering was that 7,500 were waiting. That is a significant number of people. We were just discussing student accommodation and we are aware of the housing crisis in general, not to mention the impact it is having on these people’s lives. The eye was taken off the ball and I could not get a response because nobody wanted to admit it. That is my reading of the situation.
We will send the numbers to the Deputy afterwards. At the end of September 2023, 8,757 apprentices were waiting to access off-the-job training, of which 5,345 were waiting longer than six months. At phase 2, there were 7,096 apprentices, of which 5,194 were waiting longer than six months. At phases 4 and 6, there were 1,161 apprentices, of which 51 were waiting longer than six months. I do not accept we have taken the eye off the ball. SOLAS and the NAO are leading on developing a series of options, which will significantly reduce the backlog by the end of 2024. This work has been the output of activities and stakeholder engagements that occurred at an intensive pace on the ground between July and September this year. The options are focused on increasing the capacity of the education and training boards by 3,000 places in phase 2 and delivering apprenticeships supported by other initiatives such as the temporary and emergency delivery of approximately 600 places in phase 2. We will send the Deputy the follow-on on that.
I look forward to reading it in detail. Obviously, the Minister of State will not say to me on the floor of the Dáil that he took his eye off the ball. I am aware he will not do that and that he is trying to fix the issue, but how did we get to this point where he is saying the number was more than 8,000 at the end of September? The response I got was from the start of September. This is really important. I know the Minister of State knows that but the eye has to have been taken off the ball. I do not see what else could have happened leading to so many people waiting. When we talk of increasing capacity in housing, the first thing the Government constantly says is we need workers who are able to do it. We have people who want to do it but cannot. They cannot access the training they need to complete their apprenticeships. I do not see how the Minister of State can say he did not take his eye off the ball.
The training of apprentices is important and must be done in a timely manner. There has been a hugely positive reaction to the level of apprentices going into the system and the expansion of apprenticeships but I concur with the Deputy that if we do not have the processes right for people to get qualified in a timely manner, the good work being done will be in vain. Young people get demoralised by having to wait. They are not moving up the scale from phase 2 to phase 3 or getting the increment in their pay. They see this as holding them back when they want to get out there. It is timely to discuss a review to make sure that, as well as have the policies and input right, we get people through the system in a timely fashion and maximise the number of people in apprenticeships.
I recognise and acknowledge the concerns raised by the Deputies. Suffice it to say the eye was not taken off the ball on this. It has been a continual focus within our Department. At the same time, we have to protect the quality of training provided and we had to build capacity to deal with the backlog. The backlog has dropped since 2021 from in excess of 11,000 to approximately 7,500. The will and resources are there to eliminate that backlog by the end of next year. It is a high priority for us. We, of course, recognise it but we have to engage with the stakeholders who provide the training, their staff and the representative organisations of the staff. We cannot flick a switch and double or triple capacity. There has to be a consultation process to ensure the quality of training provided to apprentices meets the required standard.
