Wicklow Minister Announces New Apprenticeship Programmes.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD announces a record number of apprentices registered in 2023.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD and Minister of State for Further Education and Skills Niall Collins TD have today announced a record number of apprentices registered in 2023.

The Ministers also confirmed 17 new apprenticeship programmes are intended for roll out this year including four in the area of construction, while a further six in areas such as firefighting and paramedics are in development with launch dates still to be confirmed.The announcement comes as figures show the apprenticeship population has increased to 27,470, with a record 8,712 new registrations in 2023. 6,588 of these are in the craft area.

Speaking today, Minister Harris said: “Increasing the number of apprentices and apprenticeships is crucial if we want to meet the targets this Government has set under Housing for All and the Climate Action Plan.“We know we need thousands more workers in some of our key craft sectors and to help achieve our climate goals.“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. “By 2025 we set the target of 10,000 new apprentices every year and we are very close to reaching that target with close to 9,000 last year.“We want to make apprenticeships as accessible and available as possible.“That requires us constantly altering and changing what we can offer to people. I am really pleased to see some key areas now moving to this way of delivering third level education.“Importantly, this includes paramedics, social workers, roofing and cladding, and a Level 8 and Masters in Civil Engineering.“The Action Plan for Apprenticeships commits us to reaching 10,000 new registrations every single year. This will ensure we can meet that target and maybe earlier than we planned.”The new apprenticeship programmes are intended to start from mid-2024 and later in the academic year.