'Bonkers' ban on farming apprenticeships removed

Minister Simon Harris said the fact that none of the 66 apprenticeship programmes available were in farming was 'bizarre, bonkers, and unacceptable'. Picture: Damien Storan

Three new farming apprenticeships announced at the National Ploughing Championships today remove a 'bizarre' and 'bonkers' situation whereby legislation precluded the establishment of such programmes, Minister Simon Harris has said.

The farm manager, farm technician, and horticulture apprenticeship programmes will accept students in the next academic year.

The minister for higher education said that until now, legislation had prohibited statutory apprenticeships in areas of agriculture, horticulture, or fishing.

“The fact that we have 66 apprenticeship programmes today in Ireland and none of them were in farming, when it is such an important indigenous industry in our country, was bizarre, bonkers, and unacceptable to me," said Mr Harris.

“Thankfully, that now changes due to the impending passage of the Higher Education Authority Bill,” he said.

The agricultural development agency Teagasc will begin working with employers to train them in apprenticeship management from early 2023 and students will be accepted from September.

I see this as a very significant moment for the development of farming apprenticeships. It is important that we broaden the conversation in Ireland in general about career options.

Mr Harris said: “I’ve been in over 70 secondary schools over the last 12 months and I do think the conversation has been narrowed in Ireland too much about your options after school. 

"By changing the CAO website, putting apprenticeships prominently there alongside further education training, alongside university opportunities, I’m really hoping and expecting that more school leavers will decide ‘yes, that apprenticeship route is for me’.

 “Once you actually have structured education programmes, I think it makes many young people and indeed, not so young people, think: ‘well I’m passionate about farming, I’m passionate about working the land, and I’m passionate about rural Ireland, and now actually, there’s an education programme that can enable me not just to have a job I’m passionate about, but also have a qualification alongside that."

Last year saw the highest number of new apprenticeship registrations in Ireland ever at 8,607.

The locations where training will be available for the new apprenticeships will be published in due course; and the specific number of people that will be taken into these programmes will be determined by employer interest.