With positive trends in the local economy, there are also employment challenges to overcome. Here, we take a quick look at apprenticeships, why they may be a good idea for employers seeking to nurture talent and what you can expect from offering them. The Irish economy has been gaining momentum significantly over the last three years, and growth projections for 2018 forecast unemployment to fall around 5% – essentially 0% unemployment. Employers needed to realise that this means that hiring a good employee will become a greater challenge, and will add extra cost to the recruitment and selection budget. The ESRI forecasts strong growth in the economy for 2018/19 – you can learn more on the ERSI website. Information from apprenticeships.ie shows that as of 29th of August 2017, there’s a total number of 34 apprenticeships covering important industries, such as:
- Construction
- Electrical
- Engineering
- Finance
- Motor Hospitality
All of these industries operating apprenticeship schemes are vital to ensure Ireland’s future success in the global economy – and more importantly in Europe, taking into consideration that Brexit could affect business in the UK. Why should employers consider apprenticeships? One of the key reasons to consider apprenticeships is that you’re engaging with a worker who has personally chosen a career in your field, and as an employer, you have the opportunity to develop talent within your company. The apprentice earns while they learn and develops valuable work-related skills for the industry. Also, the opportunity to train an apprentice at the start of their career means you don’t have to worry about bad habits that may have been picked up in previous jobs. What can the employer expect? In line with the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) levels 5-10, apprenticeships consist of:
- 2-4 year period depending on the chosen career
- 50% on-the-job learning
- Employment under a formal contract
- Provision of different methods of learning, on or off-site
- Payment by the employer for the duration of the apprenticeship
The apprentice will become a team member among full-time employees, increasing skills over time in order to complete more challenging projects. The apprenticeship is overseen by the apprenticeship council which outlines formal requirements for approval of the employer’s resources to train apprentices. Chris Starling, Head of Apprenticeships at Virgin Media says: “I passionately believe that apprenticeships are a real option for everyone post 16 and I’m looking forward to working with other apprenticemakers to ensure that the investment that we make today in quality apprenticeships secures the future successes of our companies”. Currently, in Ireland, there are 34 apprenticeships available, compared to 300 in Germany. Minister of Education and skills, Richard Bruton TD has announced that there will be more than 120 apprenticeship and traineeship schemes by 2020. The government has committed to increasing the number of apprenticeship places to 50,000 by 2020, with twenty million in extra funding provided for apprenticeships in 2017. This is a clear indicator to organisations like yours that there’s plenty of opportunities to be successful over the coming years. If you have any questions in relation to apprenticeships, please contact our expert employment law advisors on the 24 Hour Advice Service on 0818 923 923
