Accessing Apprenticeships

Accessing Apprenticeships

If you are not sure what Apprenticeship you want to do or you do not have the minimum entry requirements e.g. your Junior Cert – there are still options for you.

Access to Apprenticeship Programme (Taster Course on a range of Apprenticeships)

Access to Apprenticeship Programme is delivered by TU Dublin’s college of Engineering and Built Environment. It is a 12 week programme that gives you an opportunity to sample a range of apprenticeships in Construction, Engineering, Electrical, Motor and Aviation – it runs 3 times a year – September, January and April .

Learners who participate in an Access to Apprenticeship programme in Technological University Dublin or Technological University of the Shannon from September 2023 are eligible to apply to the National Apprenticeship Office for an Access and Inclusion bursary.

Bursary amount: Up to €3,000 to support costs associated with travelling, accommodation, equipment, and preparation for training.

Pre-Apprenticeship Course – no Junior Cert

If you would like to do an apprenticeship but don’t have the minimum entry requirements e.g. Junior Cert, then this course would be worth exploring.

The Pre-Apprenticeship course offers you the opportunity to gain the qualification needed to begin an apprenticeship or to proceed to further education at level 4 and beyond. The course is comparable to Junior Certificate. It offers both hands-on and classroom based modules and aims to develop skills, knowledge and expertise to gaining an apprenticeship in a range of trades or industries.  For information you can contact SOLAS or your local Youthreach would be a good place to start.  e.g. Dun Laoghaire Community Training Centre Pre-Apprenticeship Training Course.

Pre-Apprenticeship Course – College of Further Ed (PLC)

If you want to prepare for an apprenticeship in a construction related trade such as Carpentry and Joinery, Electrical, Bricklaying, Plastering or Plumbing, then this course might be a good step. This course is suitable for those who wish to progress to further and higher education courses in the construction industry. For information you can check out your local College of Further Education e.g. Pre Apprenticeship Course – Construction Technology.

Pre-Tech Apprenticeships

Pre-Tech Apprenticeships aim to prepare more people to the Tech Apprenticeship route to careers in IT by showcasing tech roles and providing skills sampling in growth areas such as Software Development, Network Engineering and Cybersecurity.

Access and Inclusion Bursary

Incentives for Employers

The Government have put in place different incentives to get Employers to take on people from diverse backgrounds including:

•  €3,000 grant system and additional supports will be offered to those who employ women, lone parents, people with disabilities, and those living in direct provision.
• Gender Diversity Bursary: Employers get a €3,000 grant for every apprentice employed, but an extra bonus grant of €2,666 will be given to employers who hire female apprentice plasterers, plumbers, butchers, mechanics, sous chefs, industrial electrical engineers, and other trades which are currently 80% male or more. On the flip side, more than 80% of hairdressing apprentices are women, so the same incentive would apply to boost the number of men entering this profession.
• A €5,000 bursary programme to help 100 apprentices each year from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as lone parents, people with disabilities, Travellers, and Roma.

If you have any questions about Apprenticeships e.g. how to find an employer, you can chat online to a trained Youth Information Officer or leave us a message and we can get back to you.

We look at Apprenticeships in greater detail in another post.