Press release
Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor Leads Generation Apprenticeship – What’s Next Employer Consultation Event
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Minister of State with special responsibility for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, today (1 May 2019) opened an apprenticeship employer consultation event to hear ideas on current and future apprenticeship provision. The event, entitled Generation Apprenticeship – What’s Next?, was organised by the Apprenticeship Council and held in Dublin’s Gibson Hotel.
Today’s event aims to provide a wide range of employers with a platform to give feedback on their experience of engaging with the expanded and reformed apprenticeship system. This feedback will inform the development of a successor to the government’s Action Plan to Expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship 2016-2020. Under the Action Plan, 20 new apprenticeship programmes have already been developed across a variety of sectors, ranging from financial services and ICT to hospitality. A strong pipeline to deliver further new apprenticeships is also in place.
The Minister said:
“I am delighted to see so much positivity and engagement from employers, and to hear valuable feedback on how new apprenticeships are working and evolving in partnership with education providers. Apprenticeship starts with employers – industry input is vital to ensuring that this method of progression is available for young people to experience the workplace, to develop and become highly skilled, to secure bright futures in a whole host of new careers."
“The government’s major project of expansion of apprenticeship is bearing fruit for employers and learners. Apprenticeship registrations have increased by over 80 per cent in the last three years and there are now almost 16,000 people ‘earning and learning’ through apprenticeships. Over 1,000 of these apprentices are benefiting from an exciting range of high-quality new programmes developed over the last three years."
“Employers know better than anyone what skills they value, and their input to this system is fundamentally important. The new generation of apprenticeships demonstrates how employers can give our young people a really competitive offering to enter the workplace and progress in their careers. We need to listen to, understand and try to address barriers to employer engagement with apprenticeship if we are to build on the successes already achieved.”
The event is part of the government’s initiative to ensure the greatest possible engagement by employers to deliver opportunities for young people and to deliver highly relevant skills into Irish workplaces. Government and the Apprenticeship Council are keen to learn from the experiences and opinions of employers, including on perceived barriers to recruiting apprentices, to evolve the apprenticeship model over the coming period.
The Minister said:
“What we hear today will be taken forward into our plans as we embark on a new phase of renewal of the apprenticeship system. We hope to get rich and clear feedback both on how well our new programmes are working to deliver on employer needs and on the effectiveness of the apprenticeship model as a whole.”
ENDS
Apprenticeship is a programme of structured education and training which formally combines and alternates learning in the workplace with learning in an education and training institution. An apprenticeship prepares participants for a specific occupation and leads to a qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications. Since the 1970s it is estimated that over 105,000 apprentices have been trained in Ireland. The current apprenticeship population now stands at 16,000.
To date, following the Apprenticeship Council’s two calls for proposals in 2015 and 2017, 20 new consortia-led apprenticeship programmes have been developed. These new programmes span a variety of sectors ranging from financial services and ICT to hospitality. Further new apprenticeships are due to get underway in 2019 and 2020 in various sectors including construction, engineering and agriculture. The 45 apprenticeships currently available are listed below.
| Apprenticeship | NFQ Level | Duration | |
| CONSTRUCTION | |||
| 1 | Brick and Stonelaying | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 2 | Carpentry and Joinery | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 3 | Painting and Decorating | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 4 | Plastering | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 5 | Plumbing | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 6 | Stonecutting and Stonemasonry | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 7 | Wood Manufacturing and Finishing | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| ELECTRICAL | |||
| 8 | Aircraft Mechanics | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 9 | Electrical | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 10 | Electrical Instrumentation | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 11 | Electronic Security Systems | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 12 | Instrumentation | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 13 | Refrigeration and Air Conditioning | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| ENGINEERING | |||
| 14 | Farriery | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 15 | Industrial Electrical Engineering | Level 7 | 2 Years |
| 16 | Industrial Insulation | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 17 | Manufacturing Engineering | Level 7 | 3 Years |
| 18 | Manufacturing Technology | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| 19 | Mechanical Automation and Maintenance Fitting | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 20 | Metal Fabrication | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 21 | Pipefitting | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 22 | Polymer Processing Technology | Level 7 | 3 Years |
| 23 | Sheet Metalworking | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 24 | Toolmaking | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 25 | Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) | Level 6 | 3 Years |
| ACCOUNTING | |||
| 26 | Accounting Technician | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| 27 | Insurance Practice | Level 8 | 3 Years |
| 28 | International Financial Services Associate | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| 29 | International Financial Services Specialist | Level 8 | 2 Years |
| INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) | |||
| 30 | ICT Associate Professional Network Engineer | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| 31 | ICT Associate Professional Software Developer | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| 32 | Cybersecurity Associate | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| HOSPITALITY | |||
| 33 | Commis Chef | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| 34 | Chef de Partie | Level 7 | 4 Years |
| 35 | Sous Chef | Level 8 | 2 Years |
| MOTOR | |||
| 36 | Agricultural Mechanics | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 37 | Construction Plant Fitting | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 38 | Heavy Vehicle Mechanics | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 39 | Motor Mechanics | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| 40 | Vehicle Body Repairs | Level 6 | 4 Years |
| LOGISTICS | |||
| 41 | Logistics Associate | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| AUCTIONEERING | |||
| 42 | Auctioneering and Property Services | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| BIOPHARMA | |||
| 43 | Laboratory Analyst | Level 7 | 3 Years |
| 44 | Laboratory Technician | Level 6 | 2 Years |
| FOOD MANUFACTURING | |||
| 45 | Butcher | Level 5 | 3 Years |