That is very unusual. Reference was made to a discussion document of 1988 in which many vistas of delight were held out to us along the primrose paths of apprenticeship. However, that was not the case when I took over responsibility for labour affairs in the Department of Enterprise and Employment where there was a lot of work to be done. I am not casting any aspirations on past or present officials and Ministers or on FAS. I am stating the facts. I was determined to use this Bill to make some progress along this road. I accept that the Bill may not be as comprehensive as we all would have wished — large bodies move slowly. My concerns about equity in the areas of apprenticeships are well founded and have been voiced also by other people. The Government and the Opposition may have the same point of view on the issue but, of necessity, we may have to approach it in a different way.
Apprenticeships are the Cinderella of the training-education system. They have not always been seen as all-embracing, as they should have been. When I discuss the issue of apprenticeships with the trade unions, IBEC, the CIF, and the TUI it is like opening Pandora's box. Too much emphasis was placed in earlier agreements under the Central Review Committee on increasing the number of apprentices. Unlike me, nobody has looked at the number of apprentices who have completed their apprenticeships, the number who have their papers, the number who sat their final examination, the number who are now redundant and the number who did not complete their examinations are now quasi-apprentices, so to speak, who may be employable in Ireland but not in other countries. The subject of apprenticeships is very vast and even if we were to discuss it from now until St. Patrick's Day we would not cover all aspects.
I presume there is no objection to amendment No. 1 which merely extends the long title of the Bill. Amendment No. 6 proposes to insert a new section 4 in page 4, between lines 9 and 10 as follows:
4.—(1) The Minister may by regulations provide for requirements to be complied with for the purpose of ensuring that in respect of the recruitment of apprentices in one or more than one designated sector of industry specified in the regulations, such recruitment is carried out in an equitable and fair manner.
(2) Where regulations under this section are proposed to be made, a draft of the proposed regulations shall, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.
I want to reply to the points which have been raised by the Deputies opposite. I appreciate that the Bill does not cover everything the Deputies would wish it to cover.
I have indicated on a number of occasions during the course of the debate on this Bill my concern about the need for greater equity in the recruitment of apprentices. I have noted also that this concern was shared by a number of Deputies in their contribution to the debate. I have had discussions with FÁS as to how best this problem might be addressed and I have met also with representatives of IBEC, the CIF and ICTU on several occasions. All are agreed that the current inequities need to be removed from the system but there are different views on how this might be done.
Naturally one needs to be sensitive when dealing with complex issues such as contracts of employment between private individuals, the employer and apprentice. Many of the employers involved run small operations and, therefore, it is important that any solution we come up with would not alienate potential employments, particularly during the transition period from the old to the new system. Nevertheless, I felt strongly enough about the matter to contemplate the possibility of bringing in a legislative provision which would give compulsory backing to an equitable recruitment regime. I believe the State would have the right to do this given the investment it is making in the traning of apprentices.
On balance, and in the light of my discussions with the social partners who feel that the compulsory road would be premature at this time. I propose to hold off on such an approach for the moment. However, I am proposing to introduce a new section 4 to the Bill which will enable the Minister to make regulations to provide for conditions of recruitment of apprentices to provide for conditions of recruitment of apprentices. I will come back to the details of my amendment later.
At this stage, it is proposed to develop and operate over a trial period a code of practice to be followed by employers in the recruitment of apprentices. The code has been developed by FÁS and has already come before the board of FÁS.
I should also mention that the new Programme for Competitiveness and Work commits the social partners to the adoption of this code of practice. The objectives of the code will be to achieve equity through recruitment by open and fair competition; to ensure equal opportunity through filling apprenticeship vacancies on the basis of individual merit and to promote the use of sound recruitment procedure. The code will also endorse a degree of positive discrimination aimed at getting under-represented categories of society into traditional apprenticeship vacancies.
Under the code, the recruitment practice would be that a person specification should be developed at the outset for any apprenticeship vacancy that arises. The specification would set out the educational, knowledge and aptitude requirements of the job as well as the minimum statutory entry requirements. The code would require that a number of applicants should be sought for any vacancy, that this should be done on the basis of public advertisement and that such advertisements should contain the clear message that canvassing will disqualify.
It is recognised, of course, that public advertising may not always be the most efficient or effective means of recruitment for all employers. Accordingly, the FÁS employment services will be proposed as an alternative option, in which FÁS will either supply a list of persons who have expressed interest in obtaining an apprenticeship or, indeed, will undertake the recruitment process for the employer.
The code will also provide for the use of application forms, give guidance on selection methods, selection should and on aptitude testing and ultimately will provide that the final selection should be based solely on the extent to which candidates meet the requirements of the job as determined by the selection process.
As I mentioned, FÁS will be a proactive participant in selling this new code and would envisage being in a position to offer, for example, model packs of appropriate advertisement samples, proforma application forms, etc. FÁS will also be a monitor in relation to the active adoption of the code by employers.
At the end of the day the success or otherwise of the voluntary code of practice will very much depend on its adoption and implementation by the social partners, particularly by those on the employer side. I readily admit — this has been alluded to by Deputy Rabbitte — that the responsibilities in this respect are joint ones and that there have often been lacunae on both sides. I appreciate that there can be a degree of scepticism about the effectiveness of codes of practice generally but, in deference to the concerns expressed by the social partners about the too early advancement of the compulsory route, I am prepared to operate the code for a trial period. I have to say I am heartened by the positive reaction I have received from the social partners to the concept of the code. When I first proposed a code of practice I was told by many seasoned observers in the apprenticeship field that I would find it hard to make any inroads in this area, that it was, in effect, a closed shop.
Without wishing to be seen as wielding the big stick, the prospect of a compulsory approach remains open if after the trial period the code is not seen to be effective.
My proposed amendment which introduces a new section 4 to the Bill will enable the Minister to make regulations governing the recruitment of apprentices to ensure that such recruitment is undertaken in a fair and equitable manner. I am also proposing in subsection (2) of the amendment that a resolution, approved by both Houses, will be necessary before the regulations can be introduced. Accordingly, Deputies would have the opportunity to discuss any such proposed regulations. I put forward my amendment to the House but of course I understand the democratic process.