Kildare County Council should start taking on apprentices

Kildare County Council is being encouraged to take on apprentices.

Cllrs Aoife Breslin and Ciara Galvin asked KCC to undertake to promote and deliver apprenticeships “particularly in light of the shortage of tradespersons in the current climate and the need to deliver housing.

Cllr Breslin said there is a huge shortfall of apprentices and the proposal could provide a solution to manor jobs that the council undertakes.

Cllr Galvin said it is important that any apprentice scheme is open to everyone, including women  and those who face obstacles to securing an apprenticeship.

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But, said Cllr Fintan Brett, there is a preoccupation with third level education.

“Everyone wants to go to college; we need to get into secondary schools to promote this,” he said.

Cllr Noel Heavey said the discontinuation of the  Group Certificate examination, which took place at the end of second what, led to much less interest in apprenticeships.

“College is the fashionable thing,” he said.

Cllr Angels Feeney said the council could offer itself as an industry partner to Solas, the State agency which manages apprenticeships.

KCC official Annette Aspell told a KCC meeting on May 30 that their council is looking at how this might be rolled out for the council’s housing function.

In a report Ms Aspell said since 2015 Solas had led a redesign of apprenticeships which have expanded from the traditional construction, electrical and plumbing trades into new sectors including auctioneering and property services, insurance practitioner, accounting technician, IT, sales and recruitment.

A further expansion is planned and talks have taken place at national level about the potential for apprenticeships within local authorities. A proposal is to be prepared and submitted to Solas.