Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 May 2023
792. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will examine the apprenticeship process to allow students from Dublin to complete their apprenticeship in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25665/23]
View answerTo ensure all eligible apprentices are offered a training place, the SOLAS apprenticeship scheduling management system is designed to call apprentices by apprenticeship and training phase, on a longest waiting basis on the day of scheduling to the nearest available Education and Training Board, Institute of Technology, or Technological University.
Whilst every effort is made to eliminate unnecessary travel, unfortunately for some apprentices it is impossible to avoid having to attend training facilities that are not convenient to their locality. In the case of some apprenticeships it is not cost effective to have multiple off-the-job training locations.
In the situation where apprentices are required to move from their current place of residence to new paid accommodation to take up an offer of a training place, they are entitled to make an application for an accommodation allowance for the duration of the course. Alternatively, they can apply for a travel allowance. All apprentices are advised of the SOLAS apprenticeship scheduling process at their mandatory Apprenticeship Induction briefings.
However, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the National Apprenticeship Office is exploring the potential for craft apprentices’ preferences for training locations to be taken into account.
