The move is part of a series of measures designed to help unemployed people gain work and training experience.
Tánaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughlan revealed this afternoon that up to 1,000 unemployed apprentices will now be able to take part in the supported placement scheme.
While the employer normally pays the wages of apprentices on work placements, the State will now pay participants a reduced amount instead.
Ms Coughlan also gave details of several other initiatives, some of which were announced as part of the Budget.
They include a €20m fund to enable higher education provide special market related courses for the unemployed.
More than 5,000 places are expected to be created over the next three years, 700 additional places will also be provided by the Institutes of Technology for unemployed apprentices and craftspeople.
5,000 places are to be created in a new internship programme, announced under the Budget.
Participants will take part in 12-month work placements. In addition to their social welfare entitlement participants will receive €100 per week from the company they are placed with. This and other schemes will be administered by FÁS.
But Fine Gael has dismissed the plans as 'smoke and mirrors'. The party has pointed out that the Budget cut the FÁS training allocation by 15%. The Budget also cut FÁS training places by more than 15,000.
- Keywords:
- apprenticeship,
- fás
