80 people registered for apprenticeships in agriculture and horticulture during 2023, according to the Solas annual report for last year.

Solas is the state agency responsible for Further Education and Training (FET) in Ireland and has statutory responsibility for apprenticeships.

Seven new apprenticeships were launched during the 2023, including farm manager and farm technician.

By the end of last year, Solas said that there were 73 national apprenticeships in operation, with 22 more in development.

Solas said that several apprenticeships under the theme of agriculture and horticulture are now on offer.

There are all two years in length and lead to a major award on the National Framework of Qualifications.

The apprentices take part in an integrated programme of workplace training along-side traditional classroom and blended online delivery.

Of the 80 registrations for these apprenticeships in 2023, 27 were for sportsturf management and 16 were for horticulture. 14 registered for farm technician, while 11 opted for farm manager.

The Solas annual report also shows that there were 65 registrations for the agricultural mechanics apprenticeship in 2023, up from 58 in the previous year.

There were 27 registrations for the butcher apprenticeship, which is unchanged from 2022.

Solas said that the overall number of new apprentices who registered in 2023 was the highest to date, at 8,712 (2022: 8,286).

The number of employers actively employing apprentices also increased in 2023, to a record 9,237, up from 8,934 the previous year.

The total apprentice population at the end of the year was a record 27,470, compared to 26,325 in 2022.

The annual report shows one in ten people aged over 15 in Ireland – over 400,000 people benefited in some way from FET and apprenticeships in 2023.