Apprenticeship Programmes
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
============================================================

Tony McCormack (FF), Offaly

Many young people enter mainstream third level education and subsequently drop out for a range of reasons, including being pushed into or choosing the wrong course. There remains a degree of snobbery within our educational system and wider society that prioritises traditional college routes at all costs, even where apprenticeships would better suit a young person's skills, aptitude and learning style. Given that many young people are well suited to apprenticeships and would thrive in that model, what steps is the Minister of State taking to challenge this mindset, ensure apprenticeships are presented as an equal and respected option in schools and better capture those students who disengage from traditional third level education but could succeed through apprenticeship pathways?

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29