Despite traditionally being related to craft jobs – such as plumbing, carpentry, electrical work – apprenticeship opportunities in Ireland have widened to sectors like auctioneering, cheffing, insurance and many others.
Earn and learn
The main feature of apprenticeships is that they provide you with skills. Practical learning is at the core of it. It also allows students to “earn and learn”, or get paid for work while studying.
This doesn’t make an apprenticeship qualification less relevant than a university degree, according to guidance counsellor Brian Mooney.
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“Not everyone thrives in the theoretical academic environment and some people just want to put their hands on the job they’d like to do for life,” he says.
“Apprenticeships are often the best option for them.”
On-the-job experience
Director of apprenticeships at Solas, Alan McGrath, says apprentices are advantaged as they have the chance to work in the field they like immediately after the Leaving Cert.
They can make contacts, get paid and see “what is like to do that job in the real world.”
He adds that skills gained during an apprenticeship are life-long and in most cases can be used in any other country, suiting people who’d like to work abroad.
Many newer apprenticeships also allow graduates to gain a college degree, with off-the-job learning typically taking place in a technological university.
My experience
Emily Clarke, an electrician apprentice with ESB, explains how she was selected.
In the application process, she put a lot of effort into her cover letter by explaining in detail what drove her to want to work for the company and become an apprentice.
She then went through online aptitude tests that had to be completed within five days; practice samples can be found online to arrive best prepared on test day.
In the interview phase it’s also important to arrive prepared with information on the company and ideas that could make you stand out from the crowd.
Examples of teamwork skills and actual craft samples can also help.
Interviews conducted in 2021
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