The fundamental purpose of the change proposed in the apprenticeship system is to move from a time-served to a standard-based approach. This move has been universally welcomed as a major improvement and enhancement of the standing of the apprenticeship system. When fully developed and implemented the objective is that it will provide apprentices with a formal certificate of achievement, validated by the National Education and Training Certification Board which will be based on standards reached, which will have status and recognition with employers, for employment purposes, and within the education sector, for the purpose of allowing apprentices to progress to higher levels of qualifications.
It is a period of major change in the apprenticeship system. It is not in anybody's interest — the apprentices themselves or the economy — that the educational underpinning of apprenticeship training should be anything other than the highest quality. No developed country any longer seriously pursues narrow skill-based training as a policy objective, without the complementary development of a broader educational foundation to prepare people to cope with the ever accelerating rate of skill change, driven by rapid technological change.
The scheme launched is for a limited number of areas initially, and it is subject to completion of arrangements. My Department will be reviewing how the scheme works and it is only at that stage that I can offer an informed view as to its success, but I want to assure the Deputy that the objective of everyone is for an improved scheme.