2026-05-12
2 officials
Politician(s) lobbied: Darragh O'Brien (Minister), Department of Transport; James Lawless (Minister), Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Intent: We sought support for our summertime modularised apprentice aircraft engineering training, with funding equal to the SOLAS-funded TUD model. We highlighted that fewer than 40% of apprentices across airlines and MROs pass the current TUD/SOLAS EASA Part 66 Category B exams, yet no meaningful reform of module delivery or exam timing has occurred despite stated ministerial support for alternative approaches.
Methods: MeetingEmail
Details by Method
Meeting
A meeting was arranged with James Lawless, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science of Ireland Fiona O'Byrne, Assistant Secretary for Skills Policy and Apprenticeship and Sally Cao, Principal Officer Apprenticeship Policy to further discuss.
Email
We sought support from the Department of Transport and MoFHEIRS for our summertime modularised apprentice aircraft engineering training, with funding equal to the SOLAS-funded TUD model. We highlighted that fewer than 40% of apprentices across airlines and MROs pass the current TUD/SOLAS EASA Part 66 Category B exams, yet no meaningful reform of module delivery or exam timing has occurred despite stated ministerial support for alternative approaches.