Scheme offers great route into a career in the public service
Simon Harris, Minister for Further and Higher Education, with students from Our Lady's School Terenure, Dublin, hosting a Q&A initiative promoting apprenticeship opportunities in Ireland.
How would you like to be a junior investigator at the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission? How about paramedic in the health service? Or executive officer (EO) in the civil service?
Nice options. Interesting roles. Just three of a number of exciting new opportunities that sprang from the recent launch of the Public Service Apprenticeship Plan 2022-2025, by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD and Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD.
The aim of the Plan is to grow the number of annual apprenticeship registrations across the public service, including local authorities, to 750 by 2025. If that target is reached, it will lead to a doubling of annual apprenticeship registrations in those areas over the next two years.
At the launch, Minister Harris said: “We have placed an unrelenting focus on apprenticeship since the establishment of this Department. The number of people registering as apprentices shows this has worked.”
He said: “The Government must open itself up to apprenticeship opportunities. We have set ourselves an ambitious target of 750 apprenticeships in the Public Sector by 2025. Today, we have 373.”
Minister Donohoe added: “I’m delighted that the Plan has received widespread support across Government, and that we have already received specific commitments from Departments eager to participate in one or more apprenticeship programmes, while a smaller number of Departments are actively leading on the development of new programmes.
“In the Department of Public Expenditure, we have overseen the successful recruitment of more than 100 ICT apprentices into the civil service earlier this year, and we know we need to do more.”
Minister Donohoe said: “The Plan falls under the theme of Workforce of the Future in the new strategy for public service transformation – Better Public Services. This strategy aims to ensure that the public service has the right skills in place to meet the current and future public needs."
The Public Service Apprenticeship Plan 2022-2025, which will be overseen by Minister Harris’ and Minister Donohoe’s Departments, commits to new programmes to help increase the number of apprentices in the civil service.
Along with the three opportunities — for junior investigators, paramedics and executive officers — already mentioned, programmes will be developed for civil, architectural and planning technicians. Also, for NFQ level 5 healthcare assistants and apprentices in digital marketing and media.
The two government Departments will establish and co-chair a Public Service Apprenticeship Leadership Group (PSALG) to oversee the ongoing implementation and delivery of the agreed actions.
The local authorities and the HSE will recruit at least five craft apprentices per organisation annually.
Last year, 373 apprentices registered with public service employers. This was an increase of 103 above 2021 registrations.
The apprentices were on over 20 different programmes in a wide range of areas ranging from cybersecurity, accounting technician and recruitment, to heavy vehicle mechanics, stone cutting and stonemasonry.
