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Apprenticeship Programmes

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 31 May 2018

Thursday, 31 May 2018

Ceisteanna (97)

Billy Kelleher

Ceist:

97. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Education and Skills the methodology and the forecasting model used for registration targets for all craft based and consortia led apprenticeships under the Action Plan to Expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland 2016-2020; and the specific methodology and models used in coming up with annual targets. [24190/18]

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Freagraí scríofa

As the Deputy is aware, apprenticeship is a demand driven educational and training programme, which aims to develop the skills of an apprentice in order to meet the needs of industry and the labour market.  

SOLAS, through its Skills and Labour Market and Research Unit (SLMRU) and its Apprenticeship Services Unit, regularly conducts forecasts of apprenticeship requirements.  The SLMRU has developed a comprehensive methodology to generate annual five-year forecasts of apprentice intake for construction trades. The methodology takes account of output forecasts, in money terms, for various segments of the construction industry, the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) and the relationship between apprentice intake and employment trends in the sectors.   

This Government is committed to doubling the number of new apprenticeship registrations by 2020 which will see 31,000 people starting an apprenticeship programme during the period. The Action Plan to Expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland 2016-2020 sets out target new registrations for each of the years to 2020 and targets for new apprenticeship programmes to support these registrations. In addition, the Plan sets out various actions, such as an additional calls for apprenticeship proposals, an apprenticeship branding and marketing campaign and a review to barriers to participation in apprenticeship all designed to drive registrations into the future. To date 11 new apprenticeship programmes have been developed in various new sectors of the economy ranging from international financial services to hospitality. In addition, arising from our second call for apprenticeship proposals last year, 26 new programmes were approved for further development into national apprenticeship programmes which have added to the pipeline of apprenticeships that are in development and to be rolled out during this and future years. As well as developments in new apprenticeships, as the employment and economic situation continues to improve, we have seen strong growth in registrations across the craft trades nationally during 2017 with 4,508 at year end, which represents a 20% increase on 2016.

The annual targets for both craft and consortia led apprenticeships set out in the Plan in each of the years to 2020 were informed by the SLMRU forecasts in the craft trades and the Programme for Government commitments in the area.  The targets for consortia-led apprenticeships in the early years of the Plan were also informed by information on planned registrations provided by consortia who had been approved in the 2015 call for proposals. 

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