Vol. 496 No. 5
148 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will review the level of 70 per cent required in the theory section for students training in the field of metal fabrication with a view to reducing the percentage level to at least 50 per cent in view of the fact that the current requirement is considered too high and many students have no difficulty with the practical section of the exam. [23332/98]
My Department is represented on the National Apprenticeship Advisory Committee which advises the board of FÁS on apprenticeship and in particular on the new standards based apprenticeship system. One of the objectives of the new system is to develop the competencies of apprentices to the required industry standards of craft workers through a comprehensive underpinning of the related knowledge in the relevant skill areas. It is currently a requirement in the new modular programmes that apprentices must achieve a pass level of 70 per cent in written assessment tests. These tests are designed by experts in apprenticeship education and training programmes and are currently in the format of short answer questions for which a pass mark of 70 per cent is deemed appropriate.
However, it has been agreed to evaluate the efficacy of the present assessment process and to keep the system under review.
