SINN Féin Senator Paul Gavan welcomed work undertaken by Connect Trade Union which surveyed over 600 apprentices in 21 trades.
It found many young people are dropping out of training due to years of delays and poor pay, which, Gavan says, is cutting out the legs from under the construction sector workforce and jeopardising housing targets.
“The failure to address the two key issues for apprentices is causing a high drop-out rate and ultimately jeopardising the government’s own housing targets,” he said.
“Apprentices are dropping out at a higher rate than third level students. There’s no mystery here.
“The government is cutting out the legs from under the construction sector workforce even though it is a crucial component to solving the housing crisis,” Senator Gavan added.
