The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) has welcomed a new Government scheme to provide on-the-job training for unemployed construction sector apprentices but said “much more is needed”.
TEEU General Secretary Owen Wills said the scheme only makes provision for 500 apprentices out of approximately 3,000 currently redundant.
He said: “The allowance to the new employer should be supplemented by a levy on those who dismissed the apprentices in the first place so as to make the scheme more attractive to bona fide employers and to maximise the impact of the scheme in helping apprentices complete their training.
“There is already evidence of employers displacing apprentices with new, cheaper apprentices and they must be disbarred from any state support under the existing arrangements or those now being introduced by the Minister.”
The Employer-Based Redundant Apprentice Rotation initiative, to be run by state training agency Fás, will apply to trainee carpenters, joiners, electricians, plasterers, plumbers and bricklayers.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan said the €4 million scheme will give apprentices the required knowledge, skill and competence to prepare for the jobs market.
“Employers participating in the scheme are required to pay the apprentice the agreed industry rates for the specific apprenticeship trade and Fás will make a contribution of €340 per week towards employment costs incurred based on a 39-hour working week,” she explained.