At the INOU’s April Regional Discussion Fora there was an overwhelming consensus that apprenticeships are both a great opportunity and an underutilised pathway. It was felt that government policy around education and training was over-reliant on academic education to improve skills and employability. This emphasis on academic learning was felt to also be reflected in media coverage around education, with articles about college and university courses appearing in newspapers around the time of the CAO deadline every year, yet little to no coverage of alternative career and education routes for learners.
Participants in the discussion fora found that young people and Leaving Cert students often had little knowledge of Apprenticeships, including some who did not even know what the term meant. This is a failing of the education system which seems to see its purpose as feeding students into academic education. While this approach may work for some, there are many who find the mix of class learning and on the job experience to be an easier method of learning. After all there is more than a little truth in the Albert Einstein quote “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
With apprenticeships there appears to be a misconception that they are only for trades. While there are a wide variety of trade apprenticeships, there are a number in other sectors: Engineering, Finance, IT, Sales, Insurance, and Biopharma to name a few. Apprenticeships have been brought into the QQI system, with most trade apprenticeships being a level 6 award, while others can range from level 5 to level 8.
One of the advantages of an apprenticeship is that it is paid, making an apprenticeship accessible for people whose family cannot afford to sustain them through a 3-4 year college course. Unfortunately for older people, people with dependants, and those living outside the family home, the pay rate would make living difficult and may make taking on an apprenticeship impossible. One factor which came up in the Discussion Fora was that the cost of rent was a major barrier, and that the allowance for accommodation for apprentices taking on work placements far from home was insufficient.
The availability of apprenticeship opportunities was also an issue, with it being noted that there were fewer opportunities in the South when compared to the North. Many found that there was a difficulty for individuals to identify potential employers. Although the apprenticeship.ie website has listings for apprenticeship positions, not all apprenticeships are represented. At time of writing, Trade apprenticeships are well represented, but others such as Aircraft Mechanic, CGI Technician, and Retail Supervision have no positions available whatsoever.
Another issue that came up was the lack of part-time apprenticeship options.For people with caring responsibilities, especially single parents, full-time hours present significant challenges and can make many of these opportunities inaccessible. The reluctance of some employers to consider older adults for apprenticeship positions was also raised as a concern.
Apprenticeships can present an excellent opportunity for people to learn and improve their skills while they are earning. Unfortunately as is stands they are not accessible for all, and they need to be better resourced to make them a viable option for people seeking to improve their employment prospects and earning power.
For more information on Apprenticeships and/or to find apprenticeship positions visit Apprenticeship.ie, linked here.