Apprenticeships: Training the workforce of the future
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is pursuing multiple strategies which aim to increase the scope for apprenticeships as a path to employment in the public, private, and third sectors.
2022 saw a total of 373 apprentices registered with public sector employers such as the civil service, the Defence Forces and local authorities. This was an increase of 46 per cent on 2021 registrations.
The Public Service Apprenticeship Plan, published in the summer of 2023, outlines government ambitions to reach 750 apprentice registrations in the public sector per year by 2025. The Public Service Apprenticeship Plan is key deliverable under the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025, which was published in 2021.
Key areas where the Department is aiming to optimise use of apprenticeships are in ICT skills expansions, housing, healthcare, emergency services, and the Irish language.
To increase the role of apprenticeships in the private sector, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has announced it will roll out 17 new apprenticeship programmes in 2024. The new apprenticeship programmes are intended to start from mid-2024 and later in the academic year.
The scheme is part of an ambition outlined by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to reach 10,000 new apprentices by 2025, which is also being done under the auspices of the Action Plan for Apprenticeships.
2023 saw a record 8,712 apprentices registered for training in 2023, 2,124 of which are on consortia-led programmes, and 6,588 are in crafts.
17 apprenticeship programmes are proposed for 2024, including four in construction, while a further six in areas such as firefighting and paramedics are in development.
The announcement comes as figures show the apprenticeship population has increased to 27,470, with a record 8,712 new registrations in 2023.
Speaking at the time of the announcement in January 2024 prior to his becoming Taoiseach, then-Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris TD said: “The future of this country will be safeguarded by our skilled apprentices so we must put all the tools at the disposal of young people to avail of these opportunities and get trained in areas where there is need for an increase in workers.”
Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Niall Collins TD says that he is “incredibly proud” of the effort being made to expand apprenticeship programmes in the private sector.
“We know what our targets are, and we know that we need to make them if we are to deliver the skills the country needs in order to tackle the challenges we face in the areas of housing, climate, and other rapidly changing areas.
“We need to keep spreading the message that there is a huge variety of careers available through apprenticeships – sustainable jobs that will answer the skills needs of the country, and also many that will help drive the Government’s Housing for All strategy.”
Mary-Liz Trant, Director of the National Apprenticeship Office, says that the National Apprenticeship Office is “delighted to support employers and the enterprise community in meeting skills needs and supporting talent development and retention through the apprenticeship route”.
“Close to 10,000 training places for phase two craft apprentices are planned for 2024, which is almost double the capacity in 2023. The objective in 2024 is to eliminate the delays in full, working closely month-on-month with ETB [Education and Training Board], TU [technological universities], and IoT [Internet of Things] training providers, and with the support of industry,” Trant states.
