Businesses in Westmeath should apply for the Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme which is now being extended until mid-2021 due to its success, Longford-Westmeath Fine Gael Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, has stated.
“I am delighted to receive confirmation from the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD that the Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme is being extended for businesses to apply to it.
“To date, only 12 businesses in Westmeath have applied for the scheme, which is designed to support employers to continue to recruit apprentices during the immediate Covid-19 period.
“It ensures that businesses who take on an apprentice are hired at €2,000 per apprentice and another €1,000 if the apprentice is still on the books for a year.
“This is a good model. It allows a person to earn and learn and allows businesses to train recruits and get some payment for it. While more college places than ever are now funded for next year, apprenticeships also offer school leavers and other individuals options to progress their career in areas where we need specialised skills and trades.
“Minister Harris is also developing a new Action Plan for Apprenticeship, but the scheme has offered a lifeline to many businesses seeking to take on apprentices and security for the apprentice.
“SOLAS has also moved to simplify employer access to apprenticeship through a relaunched website at www.apprenticeship.ie where employers can find information on participating in apprenticeship or, indeed, discover how to kick-off the development of new apprenticeship programmes,” Burke stated.
“In the recent Budget, we secured a package of €118 million to help thousands of people reskill and retrain in areas where we need more workers or where there is potential for future employment.
“One area we will focus on is the area of apprenticeship. We have also secured funding to expand training courses in retrofit skills to 1,500 people per annum. We will extend programmes to include 500 places for people in search of employment in this developing area as well as providing more places for people in the construction sector," Deputy Burke asserted.
