Written answer
Apprenticeship Programmes
SOLAS provided five-year apprenticeship employer figures by ETB and sector, noting county and company-size data were unavailable, and outlined financial and advisory supports.
4194. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of employers registered to provide apprenticeship opportunities in each of the past five years, broken down by sector, company size and county; the supports available to participating employers, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55944/26]
Comment on this
SOLAS is the State agency with responsibility for further education and training, including apprenticeships. In order to employ an apprentice, an employer must be approved by SOLAS as a national apprenticeship employer.
SOLAS year-end apprentice employer figures for 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 are listed in the tables at the link below, broken down by company designation and Education and Training Board (ETB). Company designation is the main activity of the employer which is assessed at the time of their registration with SOLAS. The employer count is all apprentice employers registered in the respective ETB region. The employer count with live apprentices figure is the number of employers who currently have apprentices. Not all registered employers will have an apprentice at any given time; employers that have not had an apprentice for a considerable period may be required to undergo a revalidation process before taking on a new apprentice.
Apprenticeship programmes in Ireland operate as part of a national system. County-level data are not available, as apprentices are registered to the relevant Education and Training Board (ETB) region, based on their employer's location, rather than by county. SOLAS has advised that company size data are not available for this dataset. As the data represents a year-end snapshot, the figures can be expected to have fluctuated throughout the year.
My department funds a range of employer supports including the €2,000 employer grant for employers of consortia-led apprentices and the payment of state training allowances to craft apprentices. Apprentice employers can receive €2,666 per apprentice hired from the underrepresented gender in apprenticeship programmes where one gender represents over 80% of participants, helping to improve gender balance in trades. Under the Traveller Apprenticeship Incentivisation Programme (TAIP), employers can receive a €2,000 bursary for employing an apprentice from the Traveller Community, with additional financial support available for Traveller apprentices.
SOLAS's One More Job initiative provides advice and support for businesses seeking to engage with apprenticeships. Registered employers can also list their apprentice vacancies for free on the SOLAS website.
Apprenttice Employer Count (with live Apprentices) 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025