Apprenticeship Programmes
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-11
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James Lawless (FF), Kildare North

I thank Deputy McGettigan. I understand well the issue that she raises and I share her concern. It is well-placed. I have heard this myself from apprentices out in the field in different locations. I have heard about the challenges they face when they are sometimes placed somewhere far from home and how difficult that is to manage. Finding accommodation, of course, is a big complication as part of that as well.
I know the Deputy raised this issue before the committee recently when she was there with SOLAS. I have raised it with SOLAS myself on a number of occasions, including very recently. I have actually asked SOLAS as a starting point to review the current placement and allocation system for apprentices, and then to fix it, and to identify any opportunities for improvement. I have also heard anecdotally from engagement with employers who are taking on many apprentices that there can sometimes be a degree of arbitrariness in the system. Even though there is supposed to be a design and methodology in place, it appears that does not always manifest. This is something I have asked SOLAS to look at and take on.
It is worth noting that apprenticeships are national programmes. As with every other post-secondary education route, it is not possible that every programme will be provided in every educational institution. An apprenticeship may be delivered through a particular local ETB but it is actually a national scheme. In our own county of Kildare, which myself and the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach share, farrier apprenticeships are available. They are not available anywhere else, as I understand it, and that is because there is a particular speciality and set of knowledge within Kildare. There are probably exceptions. If people are doing a farrier apprenticeship, Kildare is where they go to do it. There are other skills. Wind turbine maintenance is available on the coast in Tralee, for example. There are other skills that are particular to specific areas. There is also the situation where apprentices are given an offer of a placement and they can decline that if it does not work for them. They can say "No" and then the place will be allocated to the next person on the list to take up. They get up to three refusals.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-11