Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2023
133. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide an update on apprenticeships; his plans to address the backlogs in the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26655/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’ was launched in April 2021 and sets out new ways of structuring, funding, and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship more accessible to employers and learners. The Plan seeks to deliver on a target of 10,000 apprenticeship registrations per annum, across a wide range of programmes, by 2025.
We are making significant progress in realising the ambition of the Plan. A key objective is to make apprenticeship more attractive to employers and learners, to ensure their continued engagement and to attract those who have not previously engaged with the system. Progress to date includes:
• The establishment of the National Apprenticeship Office (NAO), the appointment of its first Director and the initiation of its work plan;
• The removal of legislative barriers to the development of apprenticeship programmes in professions, enabled by the approval of the Oireachtas of the Higher Education Authority Bill, 2022;
• The establishment of the National Apprenticeship Alliance (NAA), representing the broad range of partners involved in apprenticeship;
• The establishment of the Access and Inclusion subcommittee, to help make apprenticeship more reflective of the national population;
• Securing resources for access measures, including a bursary programme for under-represented groups;
• The introduction of the apprenticeship employer grant of €2,000 and a gender bursary grant of €2,666;
• The allocation of €17.2m in additional capital investment for SOLAS and the HEA, building on the €20 million Apprenticeship Capital Fund investment in 2021;
• The inclusion of apprenticeship options on the CAO website from November 2021.
• The National Apprenticeship Office (NAO) Freephone advice helpline was officially launched on 19 January 2023
• The expansion of apprenticeship to all areas of the economy, with 67 programmes currently available, thus widening the impact of apprenticeship to areas of skills shortage such as engineering, technology skills, logistics, and fintech
• The submission of a memorandum to Government in November 2022 detailing the progress to date of the implementation of the Action Plan
The positive impacts of these measures are already evident in apprentice registrations. The Action Plan sets a target of 10,000 apprentice registrations per annum by 2025. 2022 saw 8,286 new apprenticeship registrations, an increase of 34% on the pre-Covid figure in 2019. Overall, the broader range of apprenticeship offerings and a growth in registrations linked to the re-opening of the economy after the pandemic created an apprentice population of 24,212 by the end of 2021. Strong registrations continued in 2022, with 8,286 registrations and a population of 26,325 at year end.
This strong growth in apprenticeship training is very welcome and indeed essential to meeting priority skills needs. The apprenticeship system has, however, been engaging with meeting this greatly increased demand while recovering from the impact of the extended closures of the training system during Covid. These closures created increased waiting lists for off-the-job training phases of craft apprenticeships.
There will always be a degree of waiting for apprentices, due to factors such as term commencement dates in higher education institutions. Significant progress has been made since, with classes resuming at full capacity in September 2021. Based on the end-Apr 2023 monthly figures, there are 5,367 apprentices waiting longer than six months to access off the job training. This has fallen from 11,200 in 2021.
With the commitment of a further €17.2m in capital investment into 2023, the required increased capacity will be delivered, with SOLAS intensifying the progress already made to reduce waiting times in those programmes with the highest numbers of apprentices waiting to be placed, with those waiting longest being prioritised for placements. Progress continues to be made as additional capacity comes on stream and it is expected that the phase 2 backlog is expected to be brought in line with normal waiting periods by the end of 2023.
Question No. 135 answered with Question No. 131.
