Apprenticeship Programmes
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Marian Harkin (IND), Sligo-Leitrim

This is again a very important question. I agree with what the Deputy is saying. Perhaps up to now, though it is changing, apprenticeships and sometimes traineeships were seen as a second or third option. They absolutely must be a first option for those for whom they are suitable. We are starting in the schools. There are a number of programmes in transition year. We have the initial vocational education and training, iVET, programme, which is a taster programme in construction available to transition year students. We have SafePass programmes. We are also looking at other programmes to not just encourage students to look at construction as a possible career, but also to break down some of those barriers that exist, including the gender barriers and the underrepresented groups. We are dealing with it from that aspect first of all. We are also having quite a number of promotional activities. The Deputy may have heard of Building Heroes, an excellent programme, with 12 ambassadors who are already in the construction sector undertaking peer-to-peer engagement, telling their colleagues about why it is a career of choice, why it is a top-class career and why they should consider it. There is a lot of work going on.

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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