Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018
307. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the €8 million allocated to equipment and fit-out costs associated with the expansion of apprenticeship programmes as outlined in budget 2018; the amount of the allocation that has been spent; the way in which the funds were spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24315/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 11 June 2018 together with my colleagues, the Minister of State for Higher Education and the Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation and Research and Development, we announced capital funding of €8 million in total across 10 Institutes of Technology. The funding will enable the Institutes of Technology purchase equipment and carry out enabling works for the delivery of new modernised syllabi in 13 existing apprenticeship trades from 2018. Details of the funding are set out in the table below.
This Government is committed to more than doubling the number of new apprentices registered to 9,000 by 2020 and expanding further into new skills areas. Budget 2018 allocated €122m for apprenticeship training, an increase of almost 24% on the previous year. This will allow the Government to deliver 10 more apprenticeship programmes and over 6,000 new apprenticeship registrations in 2018.
