Once in her final year of secondary school, Meghan Russell was urged by her mentors and educators to secure a university qualification, come what may. On reflection, she harbours doubts regarding the benefit of this guidance.
Upon graduating with a degree in environmental health from Dublin’s Technological University, it dawned on Meghan that a desk-based job was the last thing on her wish-list.
Feeling inspired by her brother and father’s renovation work on their home, Meghan sought an apprenticeship as an electrician a year after. Since then, she has never looked back.
Russell is on the verge of completing her four-year apprenticeship with Dublin-based CJK engineering. She takes immense pleasure in the challenges of fitting out new edifices and devising ways to rewire old ones.
A great perk of her pursuit is that she is set to earn a higher starting salary of approximately €52,000 than many of her university-graduated friends. With ample overtime, she notes, it may even touch €60,000-€70,000.
“I’ve made significant strides,” she observes. “I feel assured in my abilities. This is a sharp contrast to university, where I barely managed to get by. Now I am in a profession that I genuinely wish to excel in.”
Meghan is not alone in this journey. Last year saw record apprenticeships, signalling the disappearance of the stigma associated with post-school “learn while you earn” training programmes.
The latest data reveal that there were almost 9,000 new applicants in the preceding year, marking a historical high. This denotes a growth of over 60 per cent over the previous three years, with most of the new enrolments in the construction sector.
This is a noteworthy revival. Following the property crash and economic slump, when enrolments dipped to a mere 1,000 per annum, the popularity of apprenticeships had nose-dived.
Simon Harris, who served formerly as the minister for further and higher education and is the current Taoiseach, noted that an “obsession” with obtaining a degree led many to disregard it as a potential choice in the following years.
However, amid a severe skills deficit and competitive pay for graduates coupled with new apprenticeships in sectors ranging from ICT to financial services and insurance at degree-level, the interest in apprenticeships has now bounced back.
One can attribute the often overlooked status of apprenticeships to educational prejudice, according to Dr Tom O’Connor, a former lecturer in economics and sociology at Munster Technological University. Dr O’Connor, whose own career began as an apprentice pipe fitter, observes that many parents perceive apprenticeships as lacking job security and prestige, due to their lack of a traditional graduation ceremony, a significant status symbol for many.
He notes the challenge of competing with the booming industry of higher education, which continually expands by means of increased graduate turnout. Consequently, it’s not shocking to find that Ireland has one of the highest proportion of individuals in higher education and overqualified workers within the European Union.
However, there are early indications of a shift in these entrenched perceptions. Solas, the governmental body governing apprenticeships and further education in the country, has been spearheading an initiative dubbed “generation apprenticeship”, which includes marketing efforts, school outreach, and considerable competitions.
Mary-Liz Trant, heading the National Apprenticeship Office, reports positive progress towards their aim of having 10,000 new apprentices annually by 2025. She discusses the imminent availability of 75 apprenticeship fields, spanning from accounting technology and biopharmaceuticals, to social work, agriculture, and horticulture.
Deborah Tighe, the HR manager at CJK Engineering, further expresses that secondary schools, students and parents, who potentially face the burden of tuition fees, are displaying a greater inclination towards apprenticeships. She recently noted interest from almost half of a class of 20 students. Moreover, the Construction Industry Federation ensures that the infrastructure sector, a major employer of apprentices, has abundant opportunities.
Dermot Carey, CIF’s safety and training director, suggests that approximately 50,000 new recruits will be crucial to achieve the government’s upcoming housing and retrofitting plans. He has observed an evolving perception among young individuals leaving school.
“There’s a strong desire among students to contribute positively through their careers,” he adds, citing sectors such as construction, retrofitting, and wind energy. “They see the impact these industries have. There’s an encouraging narrative there.”
It is particularly appealing that apprentices have the opportunity to “earn whilst they learn”, often with starting salaries surpassing those typical of university graduates.
For traditional trade apprenticeships including construction, mechanical engineering, electrical work and motors, pay scales differ. Nonetheless, a first-year apprentice electrician can anticipate earning around €9 per hour, which can surge to over €20 per hour by their fourth year. Upon qualification, an apprentice electrician can expect a starting salary of about €52,000 annually.
Newer apprenticeships, like degree-level insurance practice, finance and engineering, offer an earning potential of €20,000-€30,000 during the learning phase. After qualification, an insurance practice apprentice graduate can earn between €38,000 and €51,000. Conversely, average starting salaries for university graduates completing undergraduate programs are around €34,000.
Meghan Russell, an apprentice electrician, assures, “There’s a great demand. I once thought I would have to move overseas, but that prospect is fading.”
Trant suggests that the higher earnings of apprenticeship graduates are expected, considering they have established careers and demonstrated their skills. He adds, “Apprentices tend to remain with their employer for three to five years after their qualification. They are greatly valued and kept within the organisation.”
Despite these advancements, obstacles persist. The CAO remains at the forefront of school leavers’ minds, with almost 77,000 applications for university courses submitted this year. Women are still significantly underrepresented in the apprenticeship sector and there are murmurs of discontent regarding the backlog of apprentices awaiting completion of their off-the-job training. However, Solas assures that this backlog will be resolved by year’s end.
A substantial number of individuals have failed to complete their apprenticeships. Last week, the news cited that over 3,300 craft apprentices could not successfully finish their courses from 2021 to 2023. However, according to Solas, this includes those who either took a break or shifted to a different apprenticeship programme. It revealed that around 1,500 of them, forming nearly 7 per cent of the total 22,175, abandoned their apprenticeship in that timeframe. Compared to this, the rate of students leaving college is about 15 per cent.
Progress is being made, but there’s still a long way to go, observes Trant. He believes that attitudes towards this alternative approach to education and building a career are gradually changing. The perception that ‘it’s something meant for others’ is gradually fading away.
On the other hand, Russell feels fulfilled with the choice she made and looks forward to carving a career for herself at her home. “The opportunities are enormous,” she remarks. “Many job roles and projects are underway. I once contemplated emigrating but this thought is now fading. I’m aiming to be certified soon and am eager to continue living here,” she shares.