As the Deputy is aware, apprentices undertaking one of our craft apprenticeships are paid a training allowance, equivalent to their net take home pay on the job, by their local Education and Training Board (ETB) while attending their off-the-job training phases. During their on-the-job training they are paid a salary by a SOLAS approved employer. Craft apprenticeships are generally four years in duration and consist of seven training phases, three phases off-the-job in an educational institution and four phases on-the-job with an approved SOLAS employer. The off-the-job training phases can vary slightly depending on the apprenticeship, however, are generally up to 20 weeks during phase 2 and 10-11 weeks during phases 4 and 6.
Apprentices undertaking one of the recently developed consortia led apprenticeships are paid a salary by a SOLAS approved employer for the duration of their apprenticeship. However, unlike the craft apprenticeships, these new apprenticeships are more flexible both in terms of the delivery of the off the job training and also in their duration, ranging from two to four years.
