200 new apprentice jobs are to be created by engineering services provider Suir Engineering as part of its European growth strategy.
The company say the apprenticeships will all lead to permanent roles with the company in electrical engineering and instrumentation.
The positions will come on stream over the next year and will bring to 1,600 the total numbers employed by the firm.
"As we grow our European footprint, the need to develop our highly skilled workforce grows too," said Chief Operating Officer Brendan Moley.
"Apprentices are the lifeblood of our industry, and at any one time, we could have up to 400 apprentices in the business."
"And interestingly, not all are joining us straight out of school. Men and women in their 30s and 40s are upskilling and they see Suir Engineering as a strong option for a career change and have made the decision to go back to the classroom."
The business is also launching a new Apprentice Centre of Excellence to support the State's SOLAS training programme.
It will be located at the company’s City West location in Dublin, with ancillary training at its Waterford HQ.
"Employees will undergo different levels of training and ongoing assessment over the course of their apprenticeship, raising the bar even further for trade professionals in the engineering sector in Ireland," said Mr Moley.
"Traditionally, any apprentice’s first day on the job is on a site without any prior training or learning to get them site ready. At Suir Engineering, we are transforming that process."
"With our new Centre of Excellence, we will ensure that every new apprentice will undergo training before joining our qualified professionals onsite to ensure they are site-ready. And that specialist training will continue throughout their four years until they are fully qualified."
Founded forty years ago, last year Suir Engineering had a turnover of €429m, an increase of 41% on the previous year.
The company has offices in Waterford, Dublin, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the UK.
