‘Cinderella of the economy’ - Waterford apprentices in limbo as housing crisis continues

‘Major shortfalls’ in the apprenticeship system are contributing to the housing crisis in County Waterford, an Oireachtas meeting has heard.

The issue was raised by Independent Waterford Senator Joe Conway during a Seanad debate on higher education.

Senator Conway described how poor the situation was for apprentices during the height of the recession.

He stated: “Back in 2014, Waterford County Council and Waterford City Council amalgamated. At the first meeting of that amalgamated council in July 2014, I put a question to the then chief executive, Michael Walsh.

“I asked him if he could tell the council how many apprentices there were in the new amalgamated council.

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"He said he regretted to tell us that the number was zero. I thought it was a shocking indictment of a local authority at the time.”

Senator Conway went on to praise the progress that has been made in that regard since then.

“Obviously, things have changed, with a lot of fosterage and good governance by the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and his predecessors.

“The number of apprentices that we have under the Minister's aegis would be close to five figures, perhaps 9,000.

“It shows a remarkable adjustment in national planning that we have gone from the situation where we had very little apprenticeship in the Cinderella of the economy where the whole thrust with young people was to get to universities and to become lawyers and doctors and brain surgeons.

“Of course, a lot of this has borne out the problems we have in providing housing for our ever-increasing population, which is at record figures now,” he added.

However, Senator Conway outlined that there are still a number of issues with the apprenticeship system at present.

“Looking at the downside, however, it is not all good news and bravado from me, I am afraid,” he stated.

“The apprenticeship system in 2025 faces three major shortfalls that I can see, namely, persistent backlogs, underfunding to a certain extent, and uneven access especially in construction and in the rural areas of the country.”

As of June 2025, there are over 9,000 apprentices waiting to qualify, particularly in the craft and construction trades.

The delays stem from limited capacity in training centres and especially for off-the-job phases, which are seen as essential for qualification and certification.

Senator Conway outlined the impact this can have on the housing crisis, particularly in County Waterford.

He stated: “The impact of this is that the bottleneck slows down the entry into the workforce and exacerbates labour shortages, notably in housing and infrastructure, and it can discourage new applicants.

“Apprenticeship opportunities are concentrated in urban centres, leaving rural areas like parts of Waterford and particularly west Waterford with fewer options.

“Smaller local authorities such as ours and employers often lack the capacity or awareness to engage with apprenticeship schemes.

“This undermines Ireland's goals for balanced regional development, which we talk about a lot in this Chamber,” he concluded.

Senator Conway was speaking amid an appearance by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, James Lawless, in the Seanad chamber.

The Waterford senator told the chamber that he had worked with Minister Lawless’ mother Mary during his time in the education sector and passed on his regards.