Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
500. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he was aware of concerns from those who have had to wait over five years to complete their SOLAS apprenticeships rather than four; how does he plan to address this; if any measures will be put in place to compensate for lost earnings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52912/23]
View answerApprenticeships are demand-led in nature. As such, there are no restrictions on the number of apprentices that can be registered. Craft programmes in particular have seen strong registrations over the past several years, as employers recognise the valuable opportunities that apprenticeship presents. This has created a situation where, despite record levels of investment, system capacity has struggled to match demand, and craft apprentices are delayed in accessing their off-the-job training phases.
At the end of October 2023, there were 5,319 craft apprentices waiting longer than six months to access Phase 2, 134 at Phase 4, and 61 at Phase 6.
In regard to the pipefitting apprenticeship, which is particularly delayed, Phase 2 training is delivered in Cork Education and Training Board (CETB) and Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) by four instructors.
The National Apprenticeship Office (NAO) and SOLAS are actively engaging with CETB and LMETB and employers of pipefitting apprentices to increase capacity.
Overall, SOLAS and the NAO are leading on developing a series of options that will significantly reduce the backlog.
The options are focussed on increasing the capacity of the ETBs, and working with other partners to deliver over 9,500 phase 2 training places in 2024.
Supporting this is a recently commenced recruitment campaign, to ensure that instructors are available as extra capacity comes on stream through planned and already in development capital measures.
Overseeing this is the Department-chaired Apprenticeship Capacity Oversight Group, which membership includes SOLAS, the NAO, ETBs and union representatives. The Group meets weekly and will be monitoring the progress of the actions delivered to address the backlogs, with any issues well flagged and mitigated.
In regard to earnings, I can confirm that apprentices waiting to progress through their training are moved to the next applicable rate based on time served, rather than training phase. In this way they access the correct apprentice rate even if they are delayed in their off-the-job training.
In all cases craft apprenticeship rates are expressed as a proportion of the qualified rate, increasing yearly from 33% of the qualified rate in year one to 90% in year four. This is in recognition of the relevant skill, knowledge and competence achieved and levels of supervision required after an apprentice successfully completes each phase of training.
Off-the-job training allowances for apprentices are calculated with reference to gross-wage norms payable in industry for the different trade sectors. The actual allowance received will generally be less as it is based on the net take-home pay calculated from the gross wage norm. The norm to be used is determined by the industry in which the employer is engaged.
I am happy to inform the Deputy that the Government introduced a cost-of-living package for students in both Estimates 2023 and 2024. As part of these measures, reductions of 33% were applied to the higher education student contribution fee for apprentices. This was in addition to new financial supports for apprentices from under-represented groups.
