Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has officially opened a brand new €4 million apprenticeship facility at the Technological University of the Shannon’s (TUS ) campus in Athlone.
The new state-of-the-art facility will create capacity for up to 1000 apprentices a year, almost doubling the campus’s existing capacity and catering for significant increased demand for apprenticeships nationally.
The new facility, part-funded by the Higher Education Authority and matched by TUS, has enabled TUS to expand its Athlone Campus apprenticeship offering to include electrical apprenticeships for the first time.
TUS already offers a variety of popular craft apprenticeships (motor, plumbing and heavy goods vehicle ) at its Athlone Campus, in addition to a modern apprenticeship by degree programme - a BSc in Polymer Processing Technology - developed in association with Ibec.
Speaking at the official launch, Minister Harris called the new facility a "really exciting development for apprenticeship delivery in this country".
“We have placed an unrelenting focus on the delivery of apprenticeships in Ireland and it is working," he said, "More people are signing up than ever before.
“That means we need bigger and better facilities. I want to thank TUS for having the vision and commitment to invest and co-fund this significant expansion of apprenticeship training in the Midlands region. This will double apprenticeship delivery here in the Midlands and expand the number of programmes too," Minister Harris stated.
TUS has seen a 40 percent increase in the number of apprentices being trained at its Athlone Campus since 2019.
According to Dr Sean Lyons, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Informatics at TUS Athlone Campus, the “earn and learn” apprenticeship model is proving to be a big draw for many students.
“Apprenticeships are not a diminution from a traditional college education,” he explained, “They are just as vital and lead to equally rewarding careers. They’re simply a different type of course, and they often appeal to people who can’t commit to full-time education from a cost point of view and would rather the earn and learn type apprenticeship model where they are in the college for 12 weeks and they’re paid," Dr Lyons added.
Apprentices must do “off-the-job” training in phases 2, 4 and 6 of their apprenticeships, with technological universities like TUS providing training in phases 4 and 6 of the apprenticeship and ETBs handling phase 2.
Currently, TUS trains 240 apprentices per term over three terms (Term 1 – Sep-Dec, Term 2 – Jan-April, Term 3 – April-June ) at its Athlone Campus, with apprentices staying for 12 weeks before a new block of apprentices arrive.
TUS President Professor Vincent Cunnane explained this is about “futureproofing” apprenticeship capacity and recognising the need for qualified workers and people who are highly and technically trained in areas with future skills needs.
“As a regionally focused technological university, our job is to provide skills and abilities for the region, recognising skills gaps where they exist and rising to meet the challenge, and we work closely with our industry partners and with government to identify and address those needs.
“I am pleased to say we now have the infrastructure in place to meet the current demand for apprenticeship education, whether that be traditional craft or modern apprenticeships, with room to allow for future expansion. This demonstrates our commitment to apprenticeship education in the Midlands.
“We are actively looking to expand our apprenticeship offering in high growth areas like robotics and automation, and we now have brand-new state-of-the-art labs, IT, lecture theatres that are specifically designed for apprenticeship education to support that ambition," Professor Cunnane concluded.
