Ulster Unionist Party spokesperson on employment and learning, Robin Swann MLA, has described the decline in uptake of and investment in apprenticeships in Northern Ireland as indicative of a Stormont Executive with no economic policy direction.

Robin Swann said:

“The answer to an Assembly question I asked about participation in apprenticeship programmes in Northern Ireland is stark and disturbing.  In terms of both investment in apprenticeships by the Department of Employment and Learning, and participation in the scheme, there has been a significant decline over the past 4 years, during the current Assembly mandate.

“In terms of investment, the funding for the off the job training element of the Apprenticeships NI programme has fallen from £31,042,331 in 2011/12 to £19,167,000 in 2015/16. In terms of participation there were 10,668 apprentices on the programme in April 2012, and only 6,563 in April 2015.  The budget and the supported places have plummeted by around 38% in both cases.

“This drop in investment in and take-up of apprenticeships in Northern Ireland illustrates a lack of leadership at the heart of the Stormont Executive.  These figures indicate we are facing a major skills deficit, unless there is a radical re-think by the Stormont Executive.

“High-quality apprenticeships equip people with the skills that employers are crying out for and, in the context of persistently high levels of both youth unemployment and economic inactivity, can help fill the skills gaps in our workforce.

“The only policy the Economy Minister is able to point to in the face of a crisis in Northern Ireland manufacturing is a future drop in the rate of Corporation Tax.  There seems to be no understanding of the importance of having a highly skilled workforce ready to take up employment and benefit from potential foreign direct investment.  The cry is ‘crisis, what crisis?’

“The reduction in the rate of Corporation Tax was an Ulster Unionist policy proposal, but it is not enough on its own to arrest the current decline in manufacturing and the slowness in the pace of economic recovery in Northern Ireland, compared to both the rest of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

“It is all very well for the Minister to launch a new advisory group on energy and manufacturing, but perhaps a policy of investment in apprenticeships would be a good place to start to construct a coherent economic plan.”