Public service apprenticeships are hoped to help bridge the "skills gap" in the Irish economy and could help boost housing supply efforts, ministers have said.Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said they hoped non-graduates would apply for the roles, but there would not be a set number of apprenticeships ringfenced for that cohort of applicants.He also said that the apprenticeships could have "big, positive knock-on effects" on efforts to increase housing supply.
The apprenticeships – which are full-time paid roles that last between two to four years – offer a qualification recognised by the National Framework of Qualifications. "You’ll already see in the plan we’re launching today, we’ve outlined I think about seven areas where we already identified skills gaps," he added, mentioning cybersecurity, software development and ICT.
"We really do see the applicants for this training programme stretching well beyond those who may already have graduate qualifications," he said.