Funded apprenticeships drive new era for on-site learning

Apprentices earn while they learn, removing financial bars to attractive careers for many young people

Promoting apprenticeships: Denis Leamy, CEO of Cork ETB, Valerie Cowman, manager of Cork College of FET Bishopstown Campus, Michael McGrath, Minister for Finance, Damian Walshe, National Apprenticeship Office, and John Fitzgibbons, director of Further Education and Training with Cork ETB, at the presentation of National Apprenticeship Awards by Cork Education and Training Board and the National Apprenticeship Office, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island, Co Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan

The apprenticeship landscape in Ireland has evolved dramatically over the past decade. Today there are more than 25,000 apprentices in training and whilst traditionally it was males who became apprenticed, that’s all changed now that a more dynamic and empowering new era has dawned.

This positive development delivers options for students keen on subjects as diverse as farming and horticulture, to international financial services, advanced supply chain management, hairdressing, hospitality and more. Needless to say, men are no longer alone in the apprentice space and this is something that hugely benefits both youngsters and industry alike.