Figures prepared for FAS, the State training agency, show the number of apprentices joining its new training programme has risen dramatically. The figures also show employers have finally overcome resistance to the new scheme, which was set up as an alternative to the traditional "time-served" model.
The older arrangement gave almost automatic qualifications to apprentices who served a set number of years at a trade, while the new standards-based programme sets out specific knowledge and skills to be acquired, which are validated by independent examination.
A commitment by employers in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress to increase the annual intake of apprentices from 2,500 a year to 3,500 remained a dead letter, thus contributing to the skills shortage that has now developed in many key sectors, such as construction.
But there has been a dramatic change in the situation since 1993. In that year, only 397 apprentices were recruited by employers and sent on standards-based courses. The figure rose dramatically to 1,181 in 1994. By 1995, the figure was 2,762, and it was 6,555 in 1996. By the end of June 1997, the figure had reached 8,532.
AS, Mr Martin Lynch, assistant director general of FAS, says the annual intake has now risen to 4,700 and is expected to rise further.
He is confident that shortages will begin to decline as the first entrants to the standards-based model graduate. The first group has just completed the courses.
Meanwhile, the number of "time-served" apprenticeships has fallen from 12,484 in 1993 to 4,589 last year. They are expected to disappear from the system by 2000. By then, there could be 15,000 apprentices doing standards-based courses, the highest number of apprentices in Irish industry since 1985.
The new standards-based entrants have a much higher level of educational attainment than their predecessors, who usually left school with a group cert. The figures show that, of 4,747 apprentices recruited under the new system, 56 per cent have Leaving Certificate entry qualifications and have clearly opted for an apprenticeship rather than technical training in the RTCs.
Almost all (97 per cent) of apprentices on instrumentation technician courses have Leaving Cert entry qualifications, followed by 88 per cent of participants in electrical instrumentation courses and 70 per cent of those training as electricians. Many of these apprentices will be seeking jobs in highly-paid sectors like the computer industry, where the possibility of acquiring further qualifications and promotion exists.
Increased apprenticeship numbers are reflected across all sectors, ranging from book binding to bricklaying. The one thing that has not changed is the low participation rate of women in apprenticeships. The number of female apprentices entering standardsbased courses rose from 19 in 1994 to 61 in June 1997. This is a 300 per cent increase, but it means women still represent only 0.7 per cent of apprentices.
