A GREATER focus needs to be placed on the many different routes available to employment, the Advisory Committee on vocational training (ACVT) has said.
Welcoming the adoption of the initiative, ISME, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association has welcomed the decision which focuses on the importance of quality and effective apprenticeships and work-based learning programmes.
The ACVT said that “apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning programmes are a springboard to jobs and active citizenship: they enhance a person’s employability and employment prospects through the acquisition of skills and competences that are needed in the labour market and support personal development”.
ISME CEO Neil McDonnell said “This is welcome and long overdue. For too long there has been an over-emphasis on accessing academic third-level education. This initiative is geared towards those who do not want, or, are not suited to third-level education.”
“We need to move away from the view that apprenticeships are a second tier option, or ‘last resort.’ They are much more than that. They provide practical learning outcomes and instil lifelong skills that can’t be procured at university.”
“Apprenticeships allow young people the chance to fulfil their potential on an alternative route that best suit their skills and capabilities,” he added.
