Record number of apprentices with highest in construction trade

A RECORD number of apprentices registered in 2023, with significant numbers registering to join construction trades.

The announcement by the Irish government comes as figures show the apprenticeship population has increased to 27,470, with a record 8,712 new registrations in 2023. 6,588 of these are in the craft area.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris also confirmed 17 new apprenticeship programmes are proposed for this year including four in the area of construction, while a further six in areas such as firefighting and paramedics are in development.

Minister Harris said: “By 2025 we set the target of 10,000 new apprentices every year and we are very close to reaching that target with close to 9,000 last year. We want to make apprenticeships as accessible and available as possible.

“That requires us constantly altering and changing what we can offer to people. I am really pleased to see some key areas now moving to this way of delivering third level education.

“Importantly, this includes paramedics, social workers, roofing and cladding, and a Level 8 and Masters in Civil Engineering.

“The Action Plan for Apprenticeships commits us to reaching 10,000 new registrations every single year. This will ensure we can meet that target and maybe earlier than we planned.”

The new apprenticeship programmes are intended to start from mid-2024 and later in the academic year.