534 Craft Apprentices graduate from Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan.
The graduation ceremony was hosted by Louth Meath ETB in conjunction with Cavan Monaghan ETB on 3rd of November in the Fairways Hotel, Dundalk. The awards were conferred by Minister Thomas Byrne TD, Minister of state at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and at the Department of Education. Minister Byrne in his address to the graduating apprentices spoke of the vital role apprenticeships play in meeting the demands of societal development and economic growth. He further emphasised the link apprenticeships provide between workplace learning and achieving internationally recognised qualifications thus providing a career pathway to the future.
This was further echoed by the other speakers on the day who attended to mark the achievement of the gathered apprentices, a worthy acknowledgement of all their hard work and dedication to their training, both in college and on the job in the workplace. There was encouragement to continue studying part time to bolster their qualifications as the world around us changes. Engagement with Further Education and Training pathways were identified to upskill and keep abreast of the evolution of their crafts. LMETB and CMETB boast a range further training opportunities suitable for employed persons through the Skills To Advance initiative. One such being the Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence in Dundalk that uses cutting edge technology with Robotics, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality etc. to meet the needs of the key skills required by the economy. Mr. Martin G. O’ Brien (Chief Executive, LMETB) spoke of his beginnings as an apprentice and outlined the different and varied career paths available to those that hold these same qualifications being conferred by the Minister.
Ms. Sadie Ward Mc Dermott (Director of FET, LMETB) in her closing address highlighted the increase in female apprentices in craft apprenticeships saying that women were now viewing a craft apprenticeship as a realistic career path. This can be seen from the increase of registered female apprentices nationally this year of 1837 up from only 60 in 2016.
LMETB in conjunction with CMETB, The National Apprenticeship Office and SOLAS are delighted to welcome the new graduates to their crafts and look forward in the future to working alongside them as they share their Knowledge, Skill and Competencies with the next generation of apprentices in their given trades.
At the event there was special commendation and acknowledgement of the Partners in Apprenticeship Delivery who are the Employers. The 2023 Employer Recognition Award was presented to Instrotec, marking their outstanding and continued support and engagement with the Apprenticeship Programme in the region.
For information on all aspects of the Apprenticeship Programme please contact LMETB via
Website: https://www.lmetb.ie/further-education-training/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/
Generation Apprenticeship: https://apprenticeship.ie/
Email: apprenticeship@lmetb.ie
Phone: 042 9355 700
