Consultation on the Review of Apprenticeships in Ireland
Bord Gáis welcomes the opportunity to submit observations in relation to this consultation.
The current apprenticeship model in Ireland appears to be very highly regarded internationally.
The 7-phase structure appears to work well and the quality of the training is very high.
However, it also appears to be proving very expensive. Accordingly, a key desirable outcome
would be to reduce the cost of running the scheme without losing the quality of the process and
the output.
Demand for skilled apprentices was obviously very high during the construction boom and a
lot of investment was made in facilities and resources to meet this demand. Following the
collapse in the sector a lot of these resources are now redundant or redeployed. In particular,
the use of the Institutes of Technology for the off-site phases may be proving more expensive
than the FÁS training centres and this may be an area of focus for the review.
This raises the difficulty in reconciling supply of and demand for skilled crafts people. One
approach is to ensure that there is a minimum number of apprentices going through the system
at all times to provide a core nucleus of skilled craftspeople to meet the needs of employers.
There are key principles that are important in any apprenticeship model (many of which are
equally applicable in any talent management context). They include, for example, the
following:

Recruitment of participants—for aptitude, attitude, motivation, and commitment— should
be carefully planned and implemented.

Some kind of probation period would be useful.

The syllabus should be carefully designed with the collaboration of all stakeholders,
including employers’ representatives and the training institutions. There needs to be a
balanced curriculum design which avoids meeting the needs of a few powerful stakeholders
while forcing a majority of participants to learn content that has little or no relevance to
them.

Some kind of interface with international bodies and standards would be desirable to
maximise portability of qualifications.

Clear learning outcomes and assessment methods are essential.

The training approach should be formally and carefully designed, structured, sequenced,
planned, documented, implemented, monitored and evaluated.

Theoretical concepts should be learned as close as possible to the opportunity to apply and
consolidate the learning on the job.

There should be some agility built into the system, e.g. to allow for new technology and
thinking to be integrated, perhaps through regular reviews every 2-3 years.

Some form of centralised monitoring of each apprentice’s progress on all phases (including
exam results, attendance, off-site training, and on the job training with employers) would
be desirable. This would help ensure that the apprentice is learning and developing
satisfactorily and that timely and appropriate interventions can be made where learning or
motivation issues are identified.
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
If it were economically feasible, it would be useful if each apprentice had a single mentor
throughout the process who was committed to supporting the apprentice’s progress.

The curriculum could be expanded to include a broader range of skills, e.g. personal skills
(e.g. career planning), communication and interpersonal skills, business skills (e.g. problem
solving, time management, basic finance, planning, how to quote for a job, how to avoid
over-committing yourself, sub-contracting, how to hire plant and people, employment law,
insurance, etc).

Some kind of talent review process would be useful so that exceptionally talented
individuals could be highlighted for possible further development, e.g. through further
education (e.g. higher certificate, degree, etc).
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