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“My message to any student thinking
about their career is simple – employers
need apprentices.
And the business leaders of today value
young people who choose this career
path as highly as someone who chooses
a course of study at college or university.
Apprenticeships are fast becoming the
top-rated way of getting a qualification –
often at degree level, enviable skills,
experience of work and life, and all of this
while being able to earn.
More opportunities than ever before are
being created in this area. There are the
traditional sectors like the crafts and
hospitality and there are the new career
paths into sectors like insurance, finance
and accounting, fin-tech and ICT.
Go to apprenticeship.ie to check out
what is on offer.
In January I was fortunate enough to see
apprenticeships in action at Combilift in
Monaghan. It is opening its doors to
young people and giving them an insight
into a multi-million euro manufacturing
industry, supplying state-of-the-art
machinery to companies around the
world.
It is just one of the companies on board
with the Government’s ambition to see a
total of 50,000 people enrolled on
apprenticeship and traineeship
programmes by 2020 – that is 14,000
enrolments every year.
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Expanding the opportunities for school
leavers and young people is a key priority
for this Government.
Schools, teachers and guidance
counsellors play a hugely important role
in supporting our young people and
helping them to make independent
choices on their journey into a career. So
too do the parents, families, friends and
role models in the community and local
clubs.
Minister for Education and
Skills Joe McHugh TD
All of us need to see the huge
transformation that is taking place in the At these events you will get the best
further education and apprentices sector. advice, the right guidance and the
chance to hear first-hand from those
The employers are leading the way.
who know what is best.
Their attitudes towards graduates from
apprenticeships and Post-Leaving Cert
I want to see more initiatives to bring
courses tell their own story – they are
vocational education and private
rated as highly as graduates from
industry together. We are responding to
universities and third-level colleges.
the new demands of the workplace.
We are investing to open doors for
Not only that but employers will tell you
young people who are moving from
that graduates of further education have school to careers. We are ensuring
better skills when it comes to team-
lifelong learning. Our education system
working, they have more commercial
is on course to be the best in Europe
awareness and they are more likely to
and apprenticeships are key to our
think like an entrepreneur.
ambitions.
It is a massive vote of confidence in the
sector.
I urge students to think about every
single avenue open to them before
I look forward to the School Summit leaving school. You are facing into a
2019 sponsored by ABP, taking place rapidly changing world of work. We are
on 16th & 17th September in The
expanding the opportunities to set you
National Show Centre, Swords, Co
on the right path and to give you the
Dublin, and I know that the Ireland
best preparations for a career and for
Skills Live event and its three day
life. Use these events to test the
expo from 21st to 23rd March in RDS
possibilities and seize the initiative to
Simmonscourt, Dublin will be a
major boost to bring apprenticeships learn and earn.
and traineeships into the 21st
century.
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