Union fears ITs will lose focus on apprenticeships

INSTITUTES of technology which have applied for university status should not lose focus on apprenticeships and lower-level qualifications, lecturers have warned.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland is concerned following the most recent application from Cork Institute of Technology this month, as the Government continues to consider similar calls from Dublin Institute of Technology and Waterford Institute of Technology.

The union has more than 4,000 members teaching at the country’s 14 ITs, which have about 53,000 students, and the issue has been the subject of debate at its annual congress this week.