Fine Gael TD, Fergus O’Dowd, has welcomed the official opening of the Brand New Electrical Apprenticeship Centre of Excellence in Drogheda.
O’Dowd said “I’m delighted to have joined my colleague the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, TD at the official opening of what is a significant national centre of excellence which is dedicated to delivering much needed apprenticeships to ensure new and well paid and satisfying worthwhile careers for our young and not so young people.
“We want Drogheda to be a national destination for apprenticeships and under the leadership of the Chief Executive of the LMETB, Martin O’Brien, we will continue to work with Minister Harris to make this target a reality.
“This new facility located at the Prism Building in the Drogheda IDA Business and Technology Park on the Donore Road which will see over €4.2m of state investment over the coming years has already taken its first intake of apprentices over the summer, with an annual target expected of 400 apprentices.
O’Dowd added “This new Drogheda apprentice centre is indicative of the Government’s continued investment in the significant expansion of the educational opportunities at the Drogheda Institute of Further Education and arises from the Government commitment to Drogheda arising from the Guerin report.
“This new centre is hot on the heels of the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed between Dublin City University and the LMETB which will provide an ambitious University presence in Drogheda for the first time as we transition to a city. The Government must continue to place our community and its needs at the heart of their decisions and to continue to give our proposals their imprimatur and.
